


Determined To SAVE You

by Secret_Seeker



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Underfell, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Relationships, Death, Deception, Frisk has never reset before, Frisk is about 13, Frisk's past, Gen, Gender-Neutral Frisk, God of Hyper Death, How Do I Tag, I don't know what I'm doing, My First Fanfic, Pacifist Route, Reader Is Frisk, Save them all, how do i fanfic, purifying the timeline
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-25
Updated: 2016-04-26
Packaged: 2018-05-29 02:42:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 28
Words: 81,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6355675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Secret_Seeker/pseuds/Secret_Seeker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Asriel got his wish, to gain total control of the timeline, taking advantage of your past to subdue you into giving up? This is a story of what would have happened if you lacked the determination to continue. We all know if Asriel had the power to recreate the world that the world would be Kill or be Killed, but what does this entail-Underfell. Now you must regain your lost determination and SAVE your friends from the corruption, make them remember you. Can you SAVE your friends, can you even SAVE yourself?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fading Determination

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Undertale doesn't belong to me (unfortunately) nor does the AU Underfell, the warped ramblings of this fanfic diverting into who knows where does ;)
> 
> I've never written fanfiction before but after reading so many great stories I've been inspired to write my own. This is my own take on Underfell and how this timeline occured. I hope you enjoy reading this.

“I can feel it…Every time you die; your grip on this world slips away. Every time you die, your friends forget you a little more. Your life will end here, in a world where no one remembers you,” Asriel hissed menacingly. “Honestly I don’t know why you’re even trying, do you think they even really cared about you? All of these ‘friends’ you made, I mean they’ve all tried killing you at some point except for Smiley Trashbag…I guess they’re too lazy to bother with you.” He continued with a twisted grin.

You hesitate,  _he’s lying my friends care about me, after all they came this far to stop Asgore_ , you rationalise. Yet doubt begins to grow, after you ran away to Mt. Ebott you were so sure that no one would ever care about you, let alone notice you left in the first place. You face Asriel, Determination glowing in your eyes, “You’re wrong,” you protest, “my friends love me!”

Asriel throws back his head in laughter, sending down showers of glowing stars with deadly precision, you flinch as your soul shifts too far to the right, struck by one of them. “You’re such an idiot Chara, the only thing that matters in this world is  **LOVE**.” Curved swords slice down diagonally, Asriel barely pays attention to his attacks, eyes focused primarily on your face. “How can they love you, they barely know you, remember what your so called ‘mom’ did to you when you tried to leave, that’s not the actions of a loving parent, I’m always watching you Chara.”

He pauses gauging your reaction, “Oh and those boneheads; one is too apathetic to care about anyone’s well-being and the other is a naïve idiot desperate for any kind of affection and praise. Papyrus was willing to turn you in to Fish-Face for glory, his attempts to get you all to be friends nearly killed you; he is selfish, only after self-gratification, he wants acknowledgement and respect, you heard what he said when he fought you. Surely Alphys must disgust you with all of her heartless experiments, how can someone like her possibly like you, and Undyne she wanted to kill you the most, if it wasn’t for Trashbag’s brother she would kill you in a heartbeat. Don’t get me started on the king, you must remember all the times he killed you before you went back to your last  **SAVE**  point”

You stare in horror, trembling slightly,  _he’s wrong, he’s wrong_  you chant in your head, you tug anxiously on the edge of your jumper recalling your life before the fall, _so alone, always alone_. The dazzling aura of Asriel’s wings made your eyes ache, rubbing furiously at your eyes to clear the images forming in your head you try to stare back defiantly at him, only to be met with a knowing smirk, it sickened you. This overgrown flower was Toriel and Asgore’s son, the kind and compassionate monster who refused to kill anyone, filled with so much hate and derision for everyone.

Lightening rained down furiously, you try in vain to avoid it but the overwhelming desire to rescue your friends is no longer driving you with the determined zeal it had before. Crying out in pain as your soul is struck relentlessly you find yourself kneeling on the frigid ground, cascading lights flickering behind your shut eyes. “How pathetic,” Asriel taunts, “At least you can see now I was telling you the truth, how many times have your friends killed you, again and again despite your pleading for mercy, before you learnt a way around it, that isn’t friendship, I doubt that friendship ever really exists, everyone always wants something from someone else, everyone has ulterior motives, no one ever cared about you Chara, only I did.” He breathed out softly after taking in your feeble appearance.

“No,” you moan in a pained tone of voice as memories fight their way to the forefront of your mind.

**“You’re such a disappointment”**

**“You are not my child”**

**“If only you were never born”**

**“Freak”**

**“Aww look it’s the little orphan all by themself, I guess no one will care if we rough them up a bit”**

**“Get out of our way, snivelling idiot, why don’t you just jump off a cliff or something, no one would give a damn”**

Asriel regards your shaking form with amusement, his attacks ceasing as he drifts closer, he shook his head as you fleetingly meet his gaze, the mocking pity felt like molten agony in your chest. “I…I’m alone?” you stutter out, hoping to be corrected.

Asriel nods in seeming approval, “That’s right all of this was a façade, none of them would have ever cared about you, they would have eventually become tired with you and sacrificed your soul, do you honestly expect an entire race of people to overlook such an easy avenue for escape after all their years of resenting humans?” Raising a hand out Asriel gestures around him in a sweeping motion, “I told you the truth before, in this world it’s kill or be killed, if you had just gone through not caring about anyone then the betrayal wouldn’t hurt as much, I was clear with my intentions from the start, do you want to know what your friends really think of you in the core of their being?” he inquires, eyes glittering with sadistic mirth.

“You can show me what they really think of me?” you ask hesitantly, deep down hoping that you could find some kind of evidence that Asriel was wrong in his claims about your friends, yet somehow what he said seemed to ring true, you had been hurt so many times by them and they didn’t even remember it, being able to  **LOAD**  and  **SAVE**  was a curse as much as a gift.

“Of course!” he exclaimed gleefully, “After all you’re my best friend Chara, you deserve to know what they truly think of you, I have their souls in my possession, it will be easy to show you.” Asriel’s smile widened as a flash of pure white encompassed the expanse of the battleground, hazy figures shambled towards you. You approach cautiously only for a bone to fly out towards your fatigued figure, with enough remaining strength you force yourself out of the way.

Staring in shock as you recognise the figure, a familiar voice calls out: “I MUST CAPTURE A HUMAN!”

_What?_  You think, stood their stunned, “Papyrus, it’s me, your friend, what are you doing!”

“I CAN’T BE FRIENDS WITH A HUMAN, UNDYNE NEEDS YOUR SOUL, SHE’LL BE SO PROUD OF ME, I DON’T NEED FRIENDSHIP, POWERFUL, PRESTIGIOUS THAT’S PAPYRUS!”

You turn away to face another soul, “Undyne,” you call, “it’s me your bestie.”

“Little Punk, as if I would ever be friends with a human, you’re the real enemy, of everyone’s hopes and dreams.” Undyne called, her voice gaining in volume as she punctuated every other word with a violent swing of an electric blue spear.

“Sans…” You trail off with diminishing hope. The hooded figure just stood there, watching with the same permanent grin that was always plastered across their face. “..P..Please..” You beg, tears gathering in your eyes as you continue to evade Papyrus and Undyne. Sans just continued to watch, completely apathetic.

“just give up, i did.” He murmured before turning his back to you.

You fall back to your knees, “Mum, Asgore, anyone please help me!” swiping furiously at the pooling tears as you call out for help. Two more figures appeared along with a surge of fire balls, yelping, you attempt to roll out of the way from your crouched position, your hair becomes slightly singed as your delayed reaction wasn’t enough to pull you away from the danger.

“Forgive me for this; I have to look out for the good of my people.” A deep voice rumbles sounding somewhat apologetic.

“No one will ever leave again.” A gentle voice resonates with a touch of anger.

Asriel steps back watching the proceedings with delight as you fall apart slowly, the tenacious connections you made with your friends burning to ash. He begins to laugh, _the idiot doesn’t know that this is their friends souls in their most powerful state of despair, void of all hope, not a reflection of their true feelings, not like it matters as long as this saps them of their determination then I’ll continue to let them believe that._ Asriel muses.

“Have you had enough yet, I told you this wouldn’t be pleasant, don’t you want this to all go away.” Asriel called out past the mob of hope drained monster souls.

“Yes!” You gasp out in anguish, “I’ve seen enough, I was such an idiot to think anyone would ever care about me.” A fresh wave of tears trickling pitifully down your screwed up, flushed face.

“What about your happy ending, your ‘love’ for your friends, I thought you were filled with determination, are you really giving up?” Asriel exclaimed feinting surprise. You nod vigorously, sighing Asriel draws the faded images of your ‘friends’ into the centre of his enormous chest. “I told you I would teach you the true meaning of this world, what good is your determination now? You have nothing to strive forward for, the illusion you constructed of the future is false, you have no need to carry on.” He proclaimed, opening his furred palms out to appear peaceful and consoling.

Turmoil surged in your mind, the desperation to be saved from your friend’s attacks, the pain of knowing that your friends were just using you as a method to escape. You thought back to their souls that Asriel had revealed to you in their ‘True Form’ the things they said seemed too alike to what they said in your previous fights before becoming friends. _Maybe I was being deceived all along, maybe Asriel is right, after all what do I know about being loved._ You feel the strength of your soul weakening as you succumb to the numb feeling you recognise from your earlier childhood, wishing you could disappear, escape from both the physical and emotional pain stabbing at your soul.

You notice Asriel scrutinising your face, looking for something, “I finally have the power to reset once again.” He notices your confused expression, chuckling slightly, “I guess you never used the full extent of your abilities, every time you died you had the potential to reset the timeline completely, yet you always chose to continue from the brink of death returning to your little **SAVE** points, I’ve reset the timeline plenty of times before you showed up, I’m surprised you were never tempted to try it.”

 “Reset?” You whisper, “What good would it do, everyone would still act the same way pretending to be my friend, the only difference would be that I would be aware of their intentions if I tried again.”

 “You could always do it a different way, there is no need to be friends with them when you know they’re lying to you, you could massacre them all!” Asriel winked at your distraught expression. “Or not, you seem too weak to muster the determination necessary to do that, looks like the only thing fuelling that determination was the façade of love for your friends, my determination is not that dissimilar, fuelled by **LOVE**. I don’t think you would have the guts to reset the timeline so I’ll do it for you.”

You continue to stare passively at Asriel, the strength to fight, to care long since deserted you yet a flicker of curiosity remained, “Why bother you must know all the inevitable outcomes by now?” You mutter quietly.

The frenzied grin returned to Asriel, “You’re right my friend, that’s why I need you, now I have the power of a God I can create a new world, one where things won’t be the same, where everyone’s true natures will be visible, people hide behind false intentions when deep down they’re all looking out for themselves, survival of the fittest, this is the only honest world that there is, with your soul I will have enough power to mould the world to my own liking.”

The prospect of death no longer scared you, you had died so many times in the past, you had lost the will, the determination to fight Asriel, there was nothing left to fight for, no future on the surface, no friends underground, everything was a lie.  _Did it even matter if time reset?_  Everyone was already consumed by Asriel, there was no hope of escaping, even if you could there would be nothing to live for. Your head ached dully, you were so tired of trying when it was all in vain, you just wanted it to end, _what world could possibly be worse than this, one founded on deceit_. You lock eyes with Asriel for a second before shutting them tightly, then in a tremulous voice you utter the two words that would change your life, everyone’s lives.

“Go ahead.”

Asriel could hardly believe his ears, _what could possibly have happened in your life to make you so susceptible to his manipulation, to make you so easily doubt the love of others, nevertheless it was not his concern, you had finally given him what he always wanted, the seventh human soul._

You feel claws dig into the remains of your muted soul, twisting harshly, the pain wasn’t even comparable to the loss of the friends you never had. Your soul drew back slowly to Asriel’s chest, the edges of darkness teasing at your mind as your concentration faltered. Even still despite giving up and allowing the darkness to swallow you, you still felt hesitant about ceasing to exist. Your soul resisted slightly against the tug of Asriel’s enlarged paw.

“Still you’re hanging on…? That’s fine. In a few moments, you’ll forget everything too. That attitude will serve you well in your next life, in my world."

Asriel felt a surge of determination as he consumed the remains of your grief stricken soul, glancing down at your broken body, void of life, he became overwhelmed by a sick sense of joy and satisfaction. He began to laugh over your corpse, his energy exploding out of him in all directions, the dark space in which he engaged in combat with you, lit up with even more residual energy. Boundless strength radiating from his being as his laughter reached a fevered pitch, everything seemed so damn funny. Not so long ago he felt nothing, now with all the souls squirming inside of him he could concentrate on all of the negativity he was deprived of feeling. He could feel regret for not following through with Chara’s plan, now he had an opportunity to change that.

He frowned slightly as he registered flickers of memories from the last soul he consumed, he felt the phantom pain of their past much like he had felt a lot of the soul's emotions. He now realised that this child despite their appearance wasn’t Chara.

“Frisk….” Asriel breathed, voice slightly hoarse from laughing so hysterically, “Even if you are not Chara it doesn’t matter, you were both hurt by this world, even though I gave you a false impression of your friends you were still harmed by them continuously, they claimed to be your friends yet they have murdered you over and over again, there is no point pretending to be nice, it gets you nowhere. Now I will create a new world, one where everyone can be their true selves, how things should be, embracing their darker nature. In this new world it will be.... **KILL OR BE KILLED!** ”

 


	2. A-VOID-ing The Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh hi, welp I updated, I'm pretty sure that my updating will be kind of irregular. Anyway enjoy XD

You are submerged in darkness, the complete absence of sound was unnerving, you were used to being at least able to hear your own breathing or faint footsteps far away, now there was absolutely nothing at all. You become aware that you are now conscious yet it is hard to differentiate that from sleep, there is no indication of reality around you; it felt wrong, so incredibly wrong. 

You thought you wanted to feel numb to the pain yet the crawling panic crept up on you, simply being unable to feel anything was horrifying in itself. You started to wonder if maybe this is how Asriel felt when he woke up as Flowey, drained of feeling entirely, unaware if you even have limbs. _No, it’s not like that, I can still feel fear_ you think. _Would it have been better to remain in a world where lies are as easily uttered as breathing?  Asriel was right you had been killed so many times, even if your friends showed regret for it they didn’t have to remember the unhinging agony coursing again and again through their entire being. They didn’t have to dream of all the ways they were murdered._

You sigh, yet you cannot hear the sound, bubbles of fear rise in your chest, you weren't even capable of making a sound, no one would ever hear you, no one would ever **SAVE**  you. _Who would want to **SAVE** me anyway,_ the cynical part of your mind asked. Despite the joy you found with your new friends, the number of times you died to eventually reach that point were uncountable, _how can that be friendship?_

Despite feeling the regret from the actions of your loved ones and wishing you never went through befriending them in the first place; when all it lead to was heartbreak, you felt anything would be better than the eternal darkness, consuming your entire essence.

_ No one is coming to **SAVE** me… _ __ Despair rises inside you, _if you were truly dead, unable to continue from your last **SAVE** point and Asriel had reset then where were you? Even the pain was better than ceasing to exist, having no sense of self, the disorientation, knowing that you will never see another human or monster again was unimaginable._

As the terror of being forgotten by everyone became too much, you became bombarded with recollections of your past, all of your mistakes, the hatred. The darkness flickered, giving way to too realistic representations of your past.

** Fire rose and danced around the remains of a once exquisite house, lapping away at the place you had spent your entire life.  Smoke spiralled softly, the charred flowered curtains that used to hang around your windows tainted black. The crisp night air wasn’t enough to fight off the waves of scorching heat, not even the steadily trickling rain could combat this, mingling with the tears tracking down your face. The smell was putrid, you were no longer in the building but the smell lingered in your sinuses, clogging up your lungs as a harsh cough from you shattered the spell of silence woven by the petrifying devastation. **

** Rough hands, the ones that had dragged you from the burning building shook you fiercely, a hysterical voice called out: “Frisk, it’s alright now, everything will be okay.” **

_** Nothing is okay, ** _ **__ ** ** you think. **

** “I did this for us Frisk, we don’t need him, he didn’t love us now I have you to myself, we’re better off.” Her voice thick with tears as she turned you to face her. Your mother. “He will never try to take you away from me again, your mine.” She begins to laugh as she pulls you closer to her in a hug, you can’t breathe, she holds you too tightly. “Mine, mine…” she whispers, her chin resting on the top of your muddy brown locks. **

** You are immobile, in mute horror, “Dad…” you choke out. **

** Her grip relents on you as she draws a hand up to slap your face, you stumble back in shock, slightly delayed as you barely register the pain. “He’s not your father, he’s no one, I did what I had to do, he was going to take you away from me.” She shouts harshly. **

** You glance behind you at the inferno of the wreckage, struggling to get your mother to release you, pulling on her arm in an attempt to reach the house. “DAD!” You scream. “Let me go, we need to help him!” **

** You are interrupted by giggles, “It’s too late for him now, he was dead before I set the fire.” She calls out in a singsong voice. **

** You bite down on ** **** ** the hand grasping your own, edging backwards from your mother so quickly you stumble over backwards landing on your backside; wincing in pain you crawl away from her. “You’re insane.” You whisper in a broken voice. **

** Staring down at the small bleeding wound on her hand, her face twists into a snarl. “I did this for you, for us, it’s because of you that he had to die you ungrateful swine, you’re not my child.” **

** Pushing yourself back up on to your feet, barely giving her a second glance you run as far away as you can from her sobbing relentlessly into the gentle rain of the night. **

_ What the hell just happened? _ __ You wonder as the vivid images of your worst memory fades, flashes of other ones make themselves present, an orphanage devoid of colour, the mocking calls of the other children as they berate you for your mother’s mental instability, blaming you for the death of your father.

You scream into the darkness, “I CAN’T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!” for some reason your voice is now audible.

You call into oblivion for help.

Somebody came.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A hand reached out towards you, smooth white bone with a rounded hole piercing the centre of the palm. A skeletal face with a long jagged crack running from the top of his skull across one eye stands before you. Making sweeping motions with his arms you can see what appears to be shadows, except they have a consistency like wet tar running off of you. Suddenly you can see your own arms, the viscous liquid tries in vain to cling onto your exhausted frame, more violent gestures from the robed skeleton cause the substance to seemingly cringe before reluctantly sliding off you. 

You become aware of pressure being relieved from your chest as you are finally able to feel physical sensations once more having a physical form. You feel quite horrified that you were unaware that you were drowning in the strange shadows. You turn your gaze towards the stranger that saved you as they start to make familiar gestures with their hands, you are filled with relief that that you learnt Sign Language from your deaf Grandmother before she passed away.

Feeling awkward you say, “Uh, thanks for saving me from those shadow things.”

[Greetings Child, I am quite curious about how your existence isn’t as infinitesimal in value when compared to everyone else’s, through your decisions alone you caused the future of this world to divert from its designated path into obscurity. As for those shadows, they are known as Sorrows, inter-dimensional leeches preying on the memories of the grieving, you are most welcome]

It had been some time since you last saw someone use sign language, you became hesitant, _perhaps you were misreading the signs._ “I don’t understand, you make it sound like the future is set in stone, doesn’t everyone’s decisions change the outcome of the future?” You inquire your voice barely above a whisper as you are slightly intimidated by the strange figure.

The skeleton makes an odd sound, almost like static in response, the warped smile seemed to gape and widen, _perhaps in amusement?_  They raised their hands once more to sign; you begin flexing your fingers, unused to movement after being in the odd shadowy coma.

[My, you are an intelligent child; I suppose to a certain degree you are correct, it is true that the individual decisions of people have an effect on the future. However I am able to perceive all eventualities, at least I thought I could] He pauses, the malleable texture of his skull moulding into a frown. [Let’s say that there a limited number of inevitable outcomes, there are only so many ways a person can react to a situation so in the end there are only a few possible paths the future could take, as I exist outside of time and space I am aware of all of them co-existing in a way, you yourself belong to one particular timeline of many.]

You feel confused, although you had heard of the multiverse theory in passing it was difficult to have it put in perspective in application to yourself. “What did you mean when you said that the future has diverted from its designated path?”

[I myself am rather perplexed by this predicament, within each timeline there is an anomaly, capable of shaping their world to a certain degree, before yourself that power belonged to the flower, in every instance you have fallen to the underground and claimed that power, what you chose to do with it varies. Some iterations abuse the ability, resetting multiple times, you however have only used it to come back from death. The confusing thing is that the flower has gained independence from the flow of time, like myself they are aware of possible timelines, they have used this to usurp the power of determination. Determination is possessed to a certain degree by most living beings; only a small quantity is present in monsters due to their lack of physical matter being able to retain it. Somehow Flowey has created an alternate possibility, this shouldn’t be possible, never before have they been able to claim the power of seven souls, only six at most.]

You feel dread welling up inside you, _I’m such an idiot not only have I ruined my own life but I’ve jeopardised the lives of countless others in parallel worlds, how the hell can one person fuck up that badly?_  The stranger seems to see you mentally berating yourself, what seems to be concern passes over their face.

[I assure you child, despite the fact that your existence is one of the focal points of the way any timeline will shape it is due to the young prince that this atrocity has occurred, they retained knowledge of parallel timelines where versions of himself knew you, this allowed him to manipulate you into achieving his own ends. The universe isn’t well adapted to handling anomalies; instead of erasing those, new outcomes are created. Unfortunately this time the mild corrupting of one timeline has diseased the entirety of existence itself]

You continue to stare at him, completely the opposite of reassured, “I don’t understand, what ‘atrocity?’” you emphasize. “How can choosing to give up in one timeline effect all others negatively, it was just one decision, aren’t they all independent of one another?” You ask, trying to be hopeful that he is mistaken.

He shakes his head in dismay, [I am afraid not, when Asriel gained the red soul…your soul, he gained more power than anyone thought possible, he was able to ascend from his own timeline and merge them all into one great conglomeration, this itself was fatal to all life forms within them. He then proceeded to change not just the future but the past, as he continued consuming timelines with those new founded abilities he had access to absolutely everyone’s souls, their hopes and dreams. He used his power to create a new world by retaining all of the soul’s positive emotions then releasing them into a new timeline. Every soul is devoid of love, the principles of which Flowey existed by, Kill or Be Killed were instilled into every one of them as they lost their ability to love]

You gaze in abject horror at him, your body trembling more and more violently, you recall all of the times you were blamed for your father’s death and the times you blamed yourself, this by far was worse. You had condemned every single monster to a fate worse than death. Stuttering you say, “This is my fault, I did this to them, if only I hadn’t allowed Asriel to fuel my resentment towards my friends this wouldn’t have happened. I screw everything up!” you finish in a terse voice.

[It is because of Asriel that you reacted that way, he is the catalyst for this change, he is now in possession of every monster’s hopes and dreams whilst the other monsters believe they have always been without love, they have become twisted and malicious over time. The only way to **SAVE** them is to remind the lost souls of their past memories, if you are able to do this then that particular section of the timeline will become purified. It will be difficult to explain to them what transpired if you can cure one when they will look around at all the others in their corrupted state-] his brow creases in surprise as you raise a hand to stop him.

“How can I possibly **SAVE** anyone, I’m dead, I don’t even know how long I’ve been dead for. Not to mention the fact that in a timeline when everyone wasn’t corrupted I was killed multiple times, I doubt they would even care enough about me to listen…” You trail off at the almost distraught expression on the skeleton’s face.

Placing a hand on your tremulous shoulder, the abyss of his eye sockets bore into you. [That is enough] He signs furiously, [Despite their transgressions against you in this timeline it is clear that your friends loved you, different versions of them may have killed you but with all of the **LOAD** ing that you did the final versions of them hadn’t killed you, that is proven to you by the fact you had befriended them and stood at the end, they may have killed you yet they learned to love you, thinking less of their love belittles what they sacrificed for you, they gave up their dreams of the surface so you could live along side of them.]

The shame and guilt is too much for you to handle _, how could I ever believe Asriel over my friends, it’s true they attacked me but maybe they were like how they are now in the corrupted timeline, maybe that wasn't their true selves, I have to **SAVE** them_. Through this rationalisation you feel a spark of something long forgotten. Determination.

Seeing the look in your eyes the skeleton cracks a smile, [I suppose you’ll be wanting to **SAVE** your friends?] he asks knowingly, to which you nod your head vigorously. [After expelling all of that power to create his new world, that action left Asriel almost entirely drained of determination as it was woven into the fabric of the new timeline, if you are able to enter the timeline you will surely have more determination and you will be able to reclaim the ability to **SAVE** , **LOAD** and **RESET** , use this wisely.]

“But how do I return, how long have I even been dead for?”

[Time isn’t linear within the void, we exist at all possible points in time as well as not existing at the same time, you will be able to enter any point in time you choose, I would recommend starting from when you originally fell. As for how you return you need only focus with your determination like you would do if you were to continue from a **SAVE** point, before you lacked the determination to leave here and I lacked the strength to reach you, being shattered through time and space makes communication difficult.]

You smile at him suddenly, “I guess you really need to pull yourself together huh?”

You see his face go blank with astonishment before you are pierced with the strange static sound you heard earlier, laughter. His smile suddenly becomes sad, almost wistful. [It would seem that you have spent too much time around Sans, his habits appear to be rubbing off on you]

Confusion crosses your face, “You sound like you know him personally.”

Something akin to a sigh is uttered. [Knew] he signed slowly with reluctance, [No one is able to remember me unfortunately]

Suddenly you feel your determination surge through you, in your head you can clearly see the word **CONTINUE**. You feel that darkness try to reclaim you, the Sorrows hungry for your pain, you remain determined focusing on your friends as the area around you glows a brilliant white, before you fade you call out: “You never told me your name!” feeling disappointed in yourself for being so rude.

[GASTER, W.D. GASTER] you are only just able to make out the letters he signs through the intense light. [Be safe child, I too care for them, **SAVE** them all]

With that farewell you feel your body dissipate freeing itself from the void.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You awake to intense back pain, opening your eyes quickly to take in your surroundings. Walls that were once a rich shade of purple now cracked and encased in dust, glancing down you see that you are laying on a flower bed like you expected. Except for the fact it appeared that it hadn’t been tended to in some time, withered flowers more brown than the original sunlight gold shade, they had barely broken your fall. _No wonder my back hurts so much_ , you grumble internally.

Pushing yourself of the ground you are filled with apprehension _, I haven’t even seen anyone yet and I’m acting like a coward, what happened to the determination I had, it seems I only have a fraction of what I once possessed. Oh well as long as it is enough to surpass Asriel I will be fine,_ you reason.

You brace yourself before entering the next room, the one that you remembered was the place you first met Flowey. You shut your eyes steeling yourself, only to be interrupted by a familiar voice.

“Howdy, I’m Flowey, Flowey the Flower.”


	3. Your Best Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You begin to make your may through the Ruins with the help of a friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Easter XD

Your eyes snap open immediately.  Before you stands Flowey, except they look different, their petals are a murky shade of yellowy-brown. They look drained of life, their petals barely hanging on, creased and withered; in fact one seems to be missing as if it had been torn off. Flowey’s face is down turned towards the dried, cracked soil with an incomprehensible expression on their face.

You feel uncertainty rise in you, they look so defeated, _I thought they won, isn’t this what they wanted?_

“A-Asriel..?” You stutter out with uncertainty.

Finally they raise their head to face you _, had they been crying?_ You wonder, judging by the unusual green streaks down their faded yellow face.

“Don’t call me that.” They whisper, their voice sounds like it’s shaking and speaking takes effort. “I’m not worthy of that name anymore Frisk.”

Despite the urge to feel pity for their broken state you can’t repress the rising anger inside of you, “You did this!” You accuse harshly. “What the fuck did you do? From what I’ve seen of the underground it appears to be in disrepair, I know what you did to everyone, taking away their hopes and dreams, their ability to love. Are you satisfied?” You finish, your previously loud voice decreasing in volume as your tone of voice takes on a more menacing sound.

Your back stiffens as you take in a strange wailing sound that you’ve never heard before, Flowey shakes violently, his leaves curling up on himself, pressing them against his face to obscure you from his sight.

“I-I’m so sorry, I’m such a cry baby aren’t I, this is all my fault.” They manage to say, their voice cracking on the last word.

You just stare at them in complete bewilderment, their entire personality seems to have done a complete 180, _where was the goading and the mocking?_

“I don’t understand…” You say with hesitation, “I thought this was what you wanted, didn’t you want to create this kind of world? Shouldn’t you be revelling in this? For God sake you’ve won, now you’re trying to make me pity you, this has got to be one of your tricks-” You stop abruptly at the squeaking whimper coming from Flowey.

They look as though they are rocking back and forth on their stem. In a gentle voice so unlike all their previous ones when communicating with you they mutter: “Originally as a flower I lacked the capacity to love, my soul was destroyed.

 After gaining access to all of your friends souls as well as the seven human souls; including your own I was able to reshape this world. I had forgotten how to feel joy and hope so I decided to make a world where everyone would understand that, emotions seemed so petty and useless. After resetting time I altered their personalities releasing their souls but retaining their hopes and dreams. Now I can see that I was wrong, with their love inside of me I have regained the capability to empathise.” They pause to sigh heavily.

“Their souls are corrupted; they have forgotten how to love, whilst I feel how I used to when I was alive even though I remain in the same form as a flower. You must understand that I regret what I’ve done to them, my own parents and your loved ones, I just wanted someone to understand what it was like to feel so empty, in a way I envied their emotions, now they are left with only hate.”

Throughout their explanation your anger begins to fade. _I know only too well what it’s like to feel alone in this world with no one to turn to, they seem genuinely remorseful._ You start to step towards them, edging slowly before kneeling down in front of them.

Flowey looks up at you startled and they begin to cringe in fear, their leaves vibrate rapidly as they just bow their head in acceptance. “Just kill me. After all I’ve done I deserve it, I’m surprised I haven’t already been killed out there.” After a long pause where you sit their immobile they glance back up at you in confusion.

“Why won’t you kill me, I did this to your friends?  How can I even claim to be Toriel and Asgore’s son after I betrayed them….just like I betrayed Chara…” They trail off in despair.

 _There was that name again, Chara, who is Chara?_ You wonder. Shaking your head you reach your hand out towards Flowey confidently with a sad smile on your face, they flinch away in surprise at your sudden action.

“Come with me.” You state, “We can fix this together, with your help we can **SAVE** everyone.”

“Why, why are you being so nice to me? I just can’t understand.” They seem to be on the verge of tears again, staring at your outstretched hand in disbelief.

“Because everyone deserves a second chance.” You say firmly. “We all make mistakes, if you truly have changed and can feel love once again then surely you want to fix your mistakes, we can do this Asriel, leave your past behind. You are Asriel Dreemurr, my friend, together we can do anything.”

Their sobbing subsides as a gentle giggle is uttered, it sounds so childlike that you blink in surprise thinking back to their other form as a small anthropomorphic goat; you smile at them and offer your arm for them to climb onto.

“Your determination…it reminds me of someone I once knew.” They mumble at a barely audible volume, their vines wrap around your torso to pull themselves up to sit on your shoulder, they secure themselves with other vines coiled around your right arm, the texture is strange like velvet but thicker and seemingly flexible.

“Comfortable?” You ask jokingly.

“Very.” They state semi-seriously. “You’ve been gone a long time, you have no idea what life is like down here now, it will be difficult getting past everyone, they are completely ruthless now, not just towards humans but each other as well. You should have seen what Toriel did to this one kid…” They suddenly stop speaking when they notice the look of apprehension on your face.

Laughing awkwardly they say, “Hey I’m sure that if anyone can make them feel love and remember who they are it’s you, I mean Toriel’s not as bad as some of them out there, just wait till you see Sans, they all look like they’re going through some kind of emo phase.”

You turn to look at Asriel perched on your shoulder, “Uh, doesn’t Toriel come down here regularly anymore, she is usually here by this point?” You ask uncertainly.

Giving a snort, “Buddy have you seen the state of this place, the flowers haven’t been tended to in years, this Toriel doesn’t give a damn about them, she spends all of her time holed up in her house when she isn’t threatening the other monsters for fun, she hasn’t been to this part in the ruins in a long time. Why do you think I stay in this part of the ruins?”

You pause, “Guess I didn’t think of that,” you rub your head sheepishly matting your hair.

You turn to exit the room breathing in deeply, unprepared for what lay ahead. Before you stands a large door, worn with age adorned by stairs either side. The stone is cracked in several places; _this doesn’t look like the safest thing to step on._ Your steps falter slightly as you scrape off the rust coloured leaves that lay in a square near the base of the stairs, they are dry and almost powdery, you give up removing them knowing there will be more ahead, you reluctantly climb the stairs.

Twisting your head to look at Asriel you are met with an encouraging nod and a slight squeeze of their vines encasing your arms _, I guess that’s his version of squeezing hands with someone_ you muse. You enter the next room peering down at six heavy looking, rusted metal buttons on the ground. Luckily you remember the order in which they need pressing from the last time you were here. You try stepping on one but it doesn’t budge, you apply more weight met with a grinding sound. Groaning you jump on it with your entire weight, this time it clicks and remains compressed into the ground, you continue with this method on the other three.

The door opens at such a slow pace you were dubious at first that it was even moving. In the next room you are shocked, the water that once ran underneath the bridges was absent, a foul concoction of dirt and who knows what else wafted up your nose. You grimace at the smell and press on, you are relieved if not a little perturbed by the fact that these puzzles haven’t been recalibrated, the spikes aren’t present.

“It seems,” You start, “That they don’t care anymore, there are few defences in place.”

Asriel nods sadly at this _; it’s disheartening when I think of the enjoyment Toriel took in puzzles when they first instructed me on them with such care and satisfaction,_ you ruminate.

You continue on until you run into a Whimsun, you are met with the familiar sensation of tugging on your chest. Your soul appears, you do a double take when you notice the colour of it is now closer to that of rust or dried blood. Seeing the guilty concern on Asriel’s face makes you feel worried, you check your stats:

**LV: 1**

**EXP: 0**

**AT: 0(1)**

**DF: 0(1)**

**HP: 10/10**

“But I thought my **HP** was 20 at max.” You puzzle.

Looking intensely uncomfortable Asriel replies, “ **HP** is an acronym.” You tense up at this, having seen enough acronyms to last a life time. “It stands for **HoPe** , when someone undergoes a traumatic experience they can lose **HoPe** , when too much is lost they ‘fall down’ when you kill and gain **LOVE** you are stealing the **HoPe** of other monsters, increasing your base stat.

Shivering, you turn your attention from your sick looking soul to Whimsun, feeling fairly confident on the account of their previously timid nature. In your mind you can see multiple options glowing with a golden light, you choose to comfort them.

Whimsun hisses at you vehemently firing a ring of moths at you, taken by surprise your soul responds sluggishly, you wince in preparation for the hit. It doesn’t come; you look up to see a circle of ‘Friendliness Pellets’ blocking the moths.

“Leave my friend alone!” Asriel bellows at the far from timid Whimsun.

Giving you one last disgruntled look it turns its back to you and flounces off, your relief outweighs the unease you felt from the battle.

You smile up at Asriel,” It’s a good job I have you around.”

They just look at you solemnly, “I will protect you to the best of my ability from danger, I got us into this mess. If we’re lucky then maybe **SAVING** Toriel will have an effect on the ruins area and we can return the other monsters back to normal.”

Nodding in agreement you continue on, somewhat disappointed by the disabled puzzles, _at least it’s easier to get through the area_ you think with a hint of optimism, _I still need to figure out what’s wrong with my soul._

Luckily the Whimsun seemed to have warned the other monsters away from you on your trip through the ruin, you catch glimpses of their shadows as they keep to the edges of the room, feeling threatened by Asriel’s menacing expression.

You pause abruptly _, wasn’t Napstablook supposed to be at this point in the ruins?_ You dismiss it and press on avoiding the spider bake sale in fear that you might agitate the spiders.

At long last you eventually reach Toriel’s house, your brow crinkles in confusion as you realise you haven’t made any **SAVE** points throughout the entire journey, you gaze up at the ruins putting aside your anxiety.

The thought of restoring this dilapidated building along with its owner fills you with **determination.**

With more effort than it usually takes you, you can feel an impression of your presence in that area as if you are placing a bookmark in that particular place in time. Looking down you can see a glowing star giving of a faded gold light _. Even my ability to **SAVE** is weaker than it used to be_. Asriel doesn’t comment on the situation, just watching you quietly.

You peer up at an inscription above the door to Toriel’s house:

**Toriel Dreemurr, Ruler of the Ruins**

Brushing off your nerves you raise your hand and knock on the door.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 


	4. A RUINed Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goat Mom welcomes you into her house

The knock resounds throughout the cobweb filled room, sounding a much louder than you had intended it to. You draw back your hand wincing slightly as you realise that you have a splinter in your knuckle from the worn door. Taking a step back in preparation you can feel Asriel’s vines tighten in anxiety around your right arm, you attempt to look reassuring but your smile is strained, having no idea what to expect.

The door swings open harshly, a raspy shout comes from the doorway, “I don’t care if your family is sick Froggit, if you don’t have the money to pay for your own child’s treatment then it’s your own problem not mine, stop bothering me!” A familiar face peers around from the door, their previous rage dissipating as they take in their unexpected guest’s appearance.

Multiple expressions flicker across their face, ranging from sorrow to disgust before finally settling on gleeful. Their towering figure steps out from the doorway, their once magenta robes with the Delta Ruin; made of soft cotton, were replaced by filthy rags that seemed like they hadn’t been washed in years, black and ragged whilst simultaneously smeared with so many other substances that it was difficult to tell that the original colour was indeed black.

Swallowing nervously you stick your hand out, before you can speak it is grasped between two great paws with matted fur. “My child you must come in immediately you are injured, I am Toriel, Ruler of these Ruins.” They give you a sympathetic smile which only seems to make you feel uneasy as you stare into bottomless dark eyes; their smile is wide and almost feral. Disregarding your screaming instincts and Asriel’s constant tugging on your arm you allow Toriel to pull you through her front door.

“Such a poor innocent youth, if I ever find the wretch that harmed you I will pour bleach into their eyes, they all know that they’re not allowed to touch that which is mine.”

You shiver involuntarily at their words. **“Mine, Mine.”** Words that you had heard once before echoed inside your head. “Yours?” You question hesitantly.

You think you see a flash of red in the abyss of Toriel’s eyes, a shaky laugh is uttered, “Of course you’re mine, any child that falls down here is mine. What a silly question. As if I would let any of the other disgusting creatures…especially him,” their face contorts in distaste for a second, “Touch my child. We’ll be happy here together, just the two of us. Forever.”

You attempt to look as if you are in agreement with her as you walk into her house. The hallway is dimly lit, when glancing upwards you notice that the light bulb has a crack running through it, the only other sources of light were from the stray candles placed hazardously around, the mirror in the hallway is shattered, the shards litter the ground throwing off light unevenly.

Toriel seems to suddenly notice Asriel on your shoulder, shock spreading across her face as she glares at him. “I told you to keep away from here you dumb weed, do you need me to tear another one of your petals off before you understand that you’re not welcome here. I’m so surprised something as weak as yourself is still alive, in this world it’s kill or be killed.” They taunt.

Asriel attempts to shift their face behind the back of your neck, you can feel the tremors of their stem vibrating against your skin. “They’re my friend Toriel, they helped me find you.” You say in the most sweet and childish voice you can muster.

Toriel’s expression falters for a second before they sigh deeply, “I will permit you stay this once weed, if you harm my child I will take great pleasure in ripping out your remaining petals and frying your stem whilst you’re alive.”

Asriel squeaks in acquiescence as you are lead to the first bedroom.

“You must be tired my child, you should rest.”

Your nose wrinkles up at the thought of how bad the state of the room you will be staying in is. “That isn’t necessary Toriel, I don’t feel sleepy at the moment,” You argue.

“I must insist that you sleep, I would also prefer it if you were to call me ‘mother’ from now on, you should be grateful for my generous hospitality, as you are now my child you should act like it and treat me with respect. You are to replace my previous child.” They pause for a second glancing down at your stripped shirt. “I will address you as Chara.”

You freeze, _wasn’t Chara the name that Asriel kept calling you when you were fighting? Asriel had seemed incredibly close to Chara and Toriel claimed this was the name of their child._ Your mind arrives at the conclusion _: Asriel is Chara’s brother, they must have been the first fallen child that the monsters told me about on my way to fight Asgore_ , you piece together.

“Come along Chara,” Toriel pushes you not as gently as you would imagine a motherly figure would, into the bedroom. Before lies twin beds and a box full of shoes. _How curious this is the only place throughout the Ruins that looks unchanged from the reset, there isn’t a speck of dust and everything is kept neatly_ , you notice in confusion.

_It’s as if this room is a shrine to the memory of Asriel and Chara, untouched by time._ You cringe thinking back to being called ‘Chara’ by Toriel. Last time you were here you were happy to refer to her as mother, now with the more forceful way she was treating you it reminded you only too painfully of the insanity of your human mother.

The door slams shut behind you.

“Toriel!” You call out before attempting a different approach. “Mom!”

“Chara do as you are told, you don’t want to get sick again, rest here, I will unlock your door in the morning.” With a sense of finality you hear Toriel’s footsteps becoming quieter as they walk away from the door.

You throw yourself down on one of the beds, despite your protests you were in fact tired, Asriel squirms on your shoulder disembarking it to pull themselves up next to you on the bed. They look at you with such misery that you pat their head gently, being careful of the ragged petals.

“I thought you said that they had no love and they would all attempt to kill me, Toriel is still acting relatively similar to how she was before but more possessive. I don’t understand exactly why she’s acting that way.” You confide, desperate to make sense of this whole mess.

Asriel looks at you in disbelief. “’Relatively similar’ in what way is that alike to Toriel’s personality?”

You shake your head, “I understand that they are different, yet at the same time they have retained their protective nature and they wish to be a family.”

Asriel huffs, “You don’t get it, she isn’t acting that way out of love or a desire to keep you safe, her predominant emotion is grief. She is holding onto you in hope of maintaining memories of the past that were happier, she wants to replace my sibling Chara with you so she can pretend they never died, in effect quelling the emptiness inside of them.”

“I thought this world was structured on kill or be killed and everyone would be blood thirsty, you said yourself that that was what you were aiming for not a world filled with depression.” You counter.

“I thought that if I removed all of their positive emotions that they would be like me, I didn’t take into account the fact that my main negative traits taking over would be regret and fear, I ignored my negative emotions and stated that I was impervious to emotions entirely. That lead me to adopting a different way of thinking; however everyone is unique and they face different problems in life, so when I took their compassion different negative traits took over each person. As a rule most monsters follow that principle but they are all driven differently and will apply kill or be killed in replacement of **MERCY**. Toriel is ruled by her grief and will stop at nothing to quench it…even killing.” Asriel finishes.

“Do you have any idea how to remind Toriel of the other timeline and make her feel compassion again?” you ask fearfully.

Asriel turns his back to you, “I haven’t a clue, where did you even get the notion of being able to **SAVE** them from to begin with?”

“I met someone when I was in the void, they seemed to think it was feasible to remind them of their past.”

Asriel scoffs at this, “They must be dreaming, I’ve been in this timeline a lot longer, none of them show any sign of remembering the past at all.”

“Even still we have to try, tomorrow I will attempt to talk with Toriel about it, if things go badly we can just start again right?” You ask with forced optimism.

You stand up suddenly, startling Asriel. You begin to search the room for something, eventually you find it and approach the door.

“What are you doing?” Asriel asks.

“We need to find out more about this Toriel, that means looking around her room, we might be able to find something in there that will remind her of a positive memory.” You answer as you begin to pick the lock on the door with a hairpin. It clicks open, you flinch at how loud the noise seems hoping that Toriel is still in the living room and didn’t hear it. Walking back to the bed you hold out your arm for Asriel to latch back onto, once again pulling themselves up onto the familiar spot on your shoulder you sneak out of the bedroom together.

Toriel’s door is slightly ajar, slipping through you hold your hand up to your mouth to muffle a cough from the invasion of dust in your lungs, thick stagnant air in juxtaposition to the clean, preserved state of Asriel’s room. You recognise a familiar object, Toriel’s diary.

You flip it open in spite of Asriel looking at you like you’d lost the plot. “We don’t have time to read dumb jokes, I had to suffer through enough of those when I was alive.” He whines.

“Why did the woman go to the party with a skeleton?” You whisper as you read the first one you see out loud.

“Frisk, hurry up and get out of here, I get it they still have an awful taste in jok-” You cut them off with a wave of your hand as your eyes widen at the punch line.

“Because she had skinned her husband..” You feel discomfort as Asriel tenses on your shoulder.

“Ha..ha…ha..” You trail off, your laughter forced, “At least she still makes jokes, that’s something, maybe she’s friends with Sans still.”

Asriel looks even more worried than he had before, “I thought her other jokes weren’t funny, I don’t even know what I’m supposed to think about this.”

You feel a heavy weight on top of your head, a paw.

You go stiff immediately, a low threatening voice behind you rumbles: “Chara, I told you it was time for bed.”

Their paws grasp either side of you, spinning you round, their mouth is curled up in a snarl, eyes empty of emotion.

“Children like you need to be punished, since when did I give you permission to go in my room? All I’ve ever done is be kind to you, I gave you a place to stay, I let you keep that overgrown weed in spite of my better judgement. This is their fault isn’t it, he convinced you to go against me. I should have obliterated that leech a long time ago, clinging to my child as if it has a right to touch them.”

You struggle out of their grasp, only to be grabbed around the neck, a coil of rope is taken out from a pocket in their discoloured robes. Toriel begins to wrap it around you, binding Flowey tightly across your chest while your hands were stuck either side of you. They lift you up as if you weigh nothing, disregarding your kicking and screaming.

“I’m sorry, please stop!” You beg.

“You’ve gone too far Chara.” Their voice suddenly becomes more shrill, “I am your mother I will punish you however I see fit, all I asked for was your obedience. It looks like you need teaching a lesson.”

Toriel removes the padlock from the door marked ‘Room under renovations’ she throws you in harshly, as your arms are pined to your side you were unable to soften the blow as your head cracks sickeningly on the ground. You whimper as you attempt to get up, feeling Flowey squirming against you to get free from the rope binding you together. You are submerged in darkness, the room has no source of light at all, yet again you are met with the sound of a door locking.

“I just want to leave, please let me go, I don’t like it here.” You scream out desperately.

An equally hysterical voice calls back, “You will never leave me, you are mine Chara. I’m not letting you out until you learn your lesson.”

You begin to sob, Asriel strokes  your arm with the tip of one of their leaves that isn’t bound as tightly to them. “It will be okay Frisk, we’ll get out of this, I should have tried fighting her for you.”

  
“No!” You manage to say firmly despite your voice cracking, “ We can’t fight them, no matter what we will teach them the meaning of **MERCY!** ”

Your voice is resolute as Asriel sighs grudgingly, “I’m not going to just stand there and watch them harm you, if you insist on not fighting then I guess I’ll just have to try healing you.”

After a few moments of silence you whisper, “When do you think she’s coming back?” You keep trying to shift around, uncomfortable from lying on hard ground on your back, the darkness was also disconcerting, too similar to your time in the void.

“Probably tomorrow, there’s no use stressing about it, we’ll worry about it later, get some sleep, there isn’t anything else to do.”

Giving up your struggles, you curl yourself up into a ball to keep warm from the icy shivers running down your spine. Awaiting what tomorrow may bring.


	5. A Tu-Toriel In How To Remember

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A chat between two friends and the past catching up with the present.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't make jokes, I'm so sorry, you have my maths class to thank for those ones.

Toriel briskly marches down the hallway, standing before the spare bedroom she gazes longingly towards the green and yellow striped jumper that resides on a coat hanger in front of the wardrobe. _I’ll give it to my child when they’re more compliant._ For a second as she looks across to the opposite bed, her mind flickers, revealing the image of a sleeping child in blue and pink, a plate with a pie set out before them. She blinks in surprise frowning _, I haven’t baked a pie in years not since…why does that child seem familiar?_ Pain surges through her head as she attempts to focus, desperately she tries to rationalise the situation, _it’s just because they look like Chara, I’ve never met them before, but why does this all seem wrong?_

Letting out a sigh of frustration she leaves the room, trying to clear away the foreign memories invading her head she descends the stairs leading to the exit _. I need to get my mind off this, I have Chara back, I’ll never be alone again._ She stands in confusion before the door for a second unable to remember if the child upstairs was Chara or not, she leans against the door met with a familiar knocking sound.

_‘knock knock’_

“Whose there?”

_“orange”_

“Orange who?”

_“orange you glad i came back?”_

She scoffs at this, “I don’t care either way what you do, I don’t need your company. Isn’t that joke a bit tame for you?”

_“wow, harsh lady, guess i’m just not really feeling it today.”_

“Like I would care.”

_“hey, what’s worse than ten babies in a bin?”_

“I don’t know why I even put up with you.” A cough from the other side of the door prompts her, “Fine, what’s worse than ten babies in a bin?

_“one baby in ten bins.”_

A snickering sound resounds from both sides of the door, _“see you do like em really.”_

“How about this, I’ll make a deal with you, if I tell you a joke back you have to do whatever I dare you to do?”

_“i don’t see much in it for me.”_

“Why, are you scared of a little dare?”

_“of course not, this better be a good joke.”_

“What’s the difference between a baby and an onion?”

_“wut?”_

“I cry when I cut up an onion.”

An unattractive snort comes from the other side of the door, _“i guess i’ll take that dare then.”_

“A human has fallen to the Underground; I usually just take them in until I grow bored of them.”

_“go on.”_

“Well this one is….different, when I look at them it seems like I knew them, I know it sounds crazy. They go around giving **MERCY!** ” She spits the last word out like a curse, “I mean it’s completely foolish and yet the other monsters just leave them alone. I don’t know what to do; they’re already getting to me with their humanity.”

_“uh, so what exactly do you want me to do ‘bout it.”_

“I know you don’t care about anyone. I want you to kill them.”

_“well that’s kinda my job lady, ya know i do it for a livin’”_

“I have a feeling about this child, they’re not what they seem, when everyone else fails you need to be the one to dispose of them. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with them, how long they’ll remain under my control is unknown; if they escape I need you to remain vigilant.”

_“ya really think empathy is gonna get through this thick skull, it’s like you said, nothing matters. down here it’s kill or be killed, i got no good reason to help the kid. i accept your dare.”_

“Good, I’m glad I can count on you.”

_“heh, it’s no use relying on anyone, i’ll do it cuz it sounds like fun.”_

With that Toriel left to return to the living room. Falling asleep in a moth-eaten armchair she drifts off to sleep.

**Immediately a brightly coloured scene presents itself in her mind, flames roaring as they leap around her towards a small figure. The fight progresses.**

**At last she hears her own voice say: “No, I understand.  You would just be unhappy trapped down there. The Ruins are very small once you get used to them.  It would not be right for you to grow up in a place like this.  My expectations... My loneliness... My fear...  For you, my child... I will put them aside. “**

She awakens gasping, an unfamiliar aching feeling in her chest, _what is this? Why do I feel this way? I don’t need to feel, feelings are for the weak._

Rising unsteadily to her feet she makes her way over to the room in which she had locked Frisk and Asriel in. _I will punish them, then they will never leave me, if they disappoint me I can just as easily dispose of them. Then I won’t need **him** to take care of it._

You had been awake for some time now, the moments of sleep fleeting due to the discomfort of your situation, anxiety rose in you as you hear Toriel outside of the door yet again. Suddenly light permeates the room, despite how dimly lit the corridor outside was, the contrast to the absolute darkness of the cramped room you resided in made the light almost piercing to your sleep deprived eyes.

A hand roughly grabs you by the scruff of your neck, dragging you outside of the room into the hallway, you feel Asriel stir against your bound chest.  Toriel draws out a knife to cut you free of the rope, your arms stretch out quickly on reflex to prevent a sleepy Asriel from falling onto the floor.

You look at Toriel with apprehension. _What had she to gain from setting you free?_

“Chara, my child it is time for your lesson.”

“My name is **FRISK** not Chara,” You insist.

“You are my child, I will address you however I wish. If you cannot do such a simple thing as answer to your own name then I have no need of you, you are an insult to my child’s memory.”

Asriel stares up at here bravely and shouts: “It is you insulting their memory by acting as if their life meant nothing, like it were easily replaceable by another. It’s not like you know how to love anyway!”

“You be silent weed, what do you know of my Chara, my Asriel?  All taken away from me by the vile humans, the least this child can do is replace them and do as I will.”

You face her with determination rearing inside you, “Mom please stop this, don’t you love us?”

“Ha, love is for the weak, you are my possession, nothing more nothing less. You really think I could care for anyone.”

You shake your head, “You do, I know you do. If you didn’t care then why try to replace your children in the first place. You’re grieving them and that’s natural because you can feel.”

Toriel suddenly raises her fist to draw out your soul, still a faded maroon, fireballs hurtle towards it. Asriel nudges you to the left to avoid the first wave.

“No, no, no, no, you’re wrong!” She snarls. “I don’t care about anyone, never have, never will, obey me or I will annihilate you and the weed where you stand!”

Her paws swipe out towards you, claws extended, you duck and step backwards hastily, the tip of her claws skimming your hair and painfully pulling a handful out. Yelping you continue to back away.

“Mom please, remember me, it’s me Frisk. Don’t you remember when you baked me Cinnamon Butterscotch pie?” You duck another attack. “Or when you read to me about snails, I’m not Chara and I never will be.”

Toriel shakes violently, it seems that tears glisten in her eyes; she breaks down onto the floor covering her face with her paws.

 _It hurts, it hurts so much._ “You have to be wrong; if you’re not then it’s all my fault. My fault that they’re dead, that I didn’t stop them. I can’t…I can’t handle that. Stop making me remember I don’t want to!” She screams out, fire surges around her violently.

“We could have been happy here together, mother and child, why do you have to do this to me, I never wanted this. My children…Chara….Asriel…why did you leave me?”

Taking in her inconsolable appearance you step forwards, she doesn’t look up at you, you hear Asriel sniffling on your shoulder looking at you with round eyes full of sorrow. “You can’t tell her about me, it wouldn’t be fair.” He mutters regretfully.

You try pleading silently with him to no avail, taking another step towards Toriel you wrap your arms around her shaking form, desperately ignoring the blistering heat radiating off of her, ignoring the unwashed scent and the texture of their matted fur.

The heat is painful yet you hang on resolute. Asriel is telling you to let go, you’re burning. Along with Toriel you sob for the past, the lost memories, sharing in each other’s pain. Her arms wrap around you in response; no longer violently but urgently trying to fill the aching hole in her soul.

“Mom, It’s okay, I’m here for you. Me, Frisk, not someone else, you will always have me.” You whisper.

The fire dies down around you, taking in a deep breathe of relief you notice several other things, the room seems brighter. Burrowing your nose in Toriel’s dress you can smell a faint hint of cinnamon.

Looking up in wonder your eyes meet with Toriel’s. the familiar shade of amber returned to her irises as she gazes at you with such compassion and love you feel your breath taken away.

“Mom?” you ask.

“…My…my…child…I’m so sorry, I don’t know what was wrong with me, why I felt so empty. It seemed as if I had felt that way forever. But you, Frisk you took away the pain, you gave me back my ability to love.”

You don’t feel capable of saying anything else, throat hoarse from reasoning so relentlessly with her, your arms tighten around her, never wanting to let go.

“I’m quite confused my child, the last thing I remember is going to meet you to face Asgore yet somehow I have these other memories of things I can’t imagine ever doing, how is that possible?”

Toriel looks up at Asriel who smiles weakly at her.  “Flowey, I remember you hurting my child but also protecting them this time, I don’t understand, which memories are true?”

“They all are,” Asriel replies. “You are remembering the previous timeline as well as the current one where you had lost your ability to love. Somehow I believe that they have merged.”

“Merged?” You croak out.

“Take a look around you, the house is no longer a mess, not only is Mo-Toriel acting how she used to but she physically looks how she used to.”

Toriel frowns, “You mean to say that somehow time has reset and I have memories of the future, and the past was corrupted?”

“Something along those lines.” He agrees, “I wonder to what extent restoring you had an impact on the rest of the Ruins.”

“Let’s take a look.” You finally say.

The three of you depart the house, Asriel clinging to you as you firmly hold hands with Toriel. The Ruins are no longer coated with an overwhelming layer of dust; it looks much like it used to. A passing Froggit waves at Toriel on its way past the house, you see a Whimsun cringe as another monster attempts to engage it in conversation.

“It seems like everything is back to normal, almost as if their life were tied to Toriel’s and **SAVING** her had an impact on the domain and the residents.” You mutter taking in the scene around you. You stand in the crimson leaves, crisp again and feel determination fill you. A **SAVE** point is created, you check your stats curiously:

**HP: 11/11**

“My child why has your health decreased so drastically?”

You give her a reassuring smile, “Actually it’s better than it was when I woke up here, I guess helping you has given me back some **HoPe**.”

Toriel continues to look concerned before realising the extent of your injuries from your fight, “My child, I…I’m so ashamed of myself for harming you like that.” They send a steady stream of warm air towards you, sealing up your wounds. “I would understand if you wanted nothing to do with me after what I did to you.”

You squeeze her hand tightly, “No matter what, you’re still my Mom, I’ m gonna fix this. I too have done things that I’m not proud of; I gave up on you all out of insecurity due to my past relationships with people. Now I see that I have to hold onto the love that I have and never doubt my friends.”

Toriel begins to tear up at your proclamation, “If things are anything like how they were here in the Ruins outside, then I fear for your safety. I know there is no point in arguing with you again like I did last time, you will find a way to leave despite my best efforts.” She looks rueful as she ruffles your hair.

“As for you Flowey, it would seem you are different this time, I will give you the benefit of the doubt, please protect Frisk from the dangers out there. I’m trusting you with their life, please keep them safe.”

Asriel nods enthusiastically, “Of course, I will protect them with my life…It’s the least I can do in any case.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“It would take too long to explain; perhaps after this is all over I can try.” The look of remorse on Asriel’s face becomes wistful, _perhaps someday I’ll tell her who I am, now I can feel we could be a family again,_ he thinks hopefully.

“Before you go my child allow me to bake you a pie, I am reluctant to let you leave but if I must then I will provide you with as many healing items as I can.”

Toriel renters the house, you just stand there feeling a deep sense of peace on the footsteps of the building. “Asriel we can do this, we **SAVED** everyone in the Ruins, all we have to do is remind our friends of who they were and the area will become decontaminated.”

“Yeah, it looks like each section of the underground is bound to your friends, maybe it’s because they have the strongest souls in the Underground that **SAVING** them alters the reality around them. If we continue how we are then, they’ll all be back to normal in no time.” Asriel grins up at you.

“So I guess the next ones to **SAVE** are Sans and Papyrus, we’ll probably just have to make lame jokes and eat spaghetti with them.”

Asriel snorts, “Yup, that’s essentially their personalities in a nutshell.”

You hear Toriel calling you from the house, the light golden colour of the walls and the array of plants make you feel calm, _a pocket of sanity in this madness._

Saying goodbye to Toriel a second time was hard, but they assured you that you could return to the Ruins anytime you wanted unlike the last timeline. _Well we’ll have a safe place at least; if we have to run away or anything._

With your pie safely tucked away and Asriel’s comforting presence on your shoulder you exited the Ruins.

You turn to Asriel, “Ready?”

“Ready!” They echo determinedly.


	6. Snow Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You meet the skelebros

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea how to write as Sans and Papyrus but oh well

The bitter chill of the air outside of the Ruins was just like how you remembered it; _I’m glad that that’s the same at least._ You were quite apprehensive about meeting Sans again, in the other timeline he had intimidated you yet turned out to be friendly, this time you felt you may not be that lucky.

The constant crunching of snow under your feet was mildly relaxing, _I missed this._ You can feel Asriel shiver violently against your neck.

“You okay up there?”

“I’m fine, I’m just not used to being out in the cold, I could barely stand following you through Snowdin the first time round.”

You remove your backpack with the pie in from your back, Asriel looks at you in confusion. “You can sit in here and peep your head out.”

Asriel shakes his head stubbornly, “What if you’re in trouble, I can’t just hide in here?”

“It will be fine.” You reason, “You can still shoot your vines out from the pack, plus it will look less suspicious if they see only one person, you don’t want them to react to you like Toriel did.”

He grumbles but acquiesces, planting himself into your backpack, _huh plant,_ you snicker internally at the mental pun.

You look around at the trees, with this area of the Underground being in a perpetual state of winter you hadn’t given much thought to the dead looking trees surrounding you before, now they seemed eerie. You continue walking, feeling satisfied that Asriel was moderately safer now. As you are so absorbed in your surroundings this time round you fail to see the blatantly obvious branch in your path.

“Watch out!” Asriel calls from the bag, peering out from the unzipped section.

It was too late for his warning you had already stumbled head first into the fluffy snow below. You rub your head absent mindedly and place both hands on the ground to push yourself up.

“h u m a n ,  y o u  l o o k  l i k e  y o u  n e e d  a  h a n d.”

You freeze, you definitely recognise this voice, _what do I do?_ You debate furiously, _he seems to be acting the same way he did before, maybe he isn’t like the others._

Reluctantly you turn around and stick your hand out towards the figure shrouded in shadows. You are met with an intense buzzing feeling, shooting up your arm, immediately you let go and fall back to the ground, wincing in pain.

“heh, you should have seen your face, the old joy buzzer works every time, amirite?”

Asriel forces his head fully out of your bag, “How dare you hurt my friend, stupid smiley trashbag!”

You look up at Sans, alarmed at his appearance, his fluffy blue jacket replaced by a thick black leather one. He wore a red jumper, at least you think it’s red, there are numerous red stains on it, you hope to yourself that it’s just ketchup and not something else marring it. He still kept his casual black shorts but with thick yellow stripes either side of his legs, he wore red trainers in place of his pink house slippers. Finally your eyes meet his face, a familiar grin except for a golden tooth implanted amongst the rest, the most alarming part of his appearance are his eye sockets, one dead and empty whilst the other one radiates a harsh scarlet red light, a much more intense shade than that of his outfit.

He notices you staring at him with your mouth wide open, “ya finished checking me out kiddo or what?”

You flush indignantly at this, “I was just surprised by you that’s all, what you did to my hand really hurt.” You scowl at him.

“chill out, i was just messing with ya, i’m sans by the way, sans the skeleton.” He glances up at a disapproving Asriel. “your _bud_ dy there looks like he has a bone to pick with me, don’t worry i don’t mean you any harm.”

You pull yourself to your feet looking at him with great mistrust, _I don’t understand he isn’t trying to kill us, maybe his change in personality won’t be as drastic as the others_ , you hope.

“I’m Frisk.” You say shortly. You see what looks like surprise flash across Sans’ face as he studies you intently. “Is something wrong?” You ask more hesitantly.

He shakes his head at you, “nah, for a second i thought…heh, i guess it doesn’t matter…i could have sworn…” he trails off before fixing you with a rigid smile. “come on kid, i gotta take you to my bro, he LOVES humans.” You see a smirk cross his face.

 _Well I will have to see Papyrus eventually; I might as well go with him._ You nod at Sans and continue walking with him trailing behind you.

“Are you insane?” Asriel whispers, “His brother will kill you where you stand, this Papyrus isn’t the sweet and innocent one you remember Frisk.”

You ignore him and proceed past the gate, _I guess some things don’t change; the bars are still too wide._ You feel unnerved by Sans silently watching you, he hadn’t made any move to attack you but their silent brooding was disconcerting.

Sans rubbed his phalanges across his skull agitatedly, _so that’s the kid that the lady wants me to kill, doesn’t look much; they seem so docile, can’t imagine them giving anyone trouble, welp i’ll just wait for the right time, chances are i won’t even have to do anything anyway._

You turn back round to Sans, he gestures forwards for you to continue walking, you catch him grimacing as he looks ahead vacantly. You come across a sentry station much like Sans’ previous one, this one is littered with bottles of mustard. There is no conveniently shaped lamp to your confusion. Loud footsteps echo ahead, you look at Sans with a panicked expression; he just shrugs nonchalantly at your distress.

Shooting him a glare you dive behind the sentry station, a look of disgust crosses your face as you realise you’ve stepped in an abundant supply of mustard, it’s cold and almost sticky, trickling into your socks. Cringing at the sensation you listen attentively for what would happen next.

“SANS! YOU WASTE OF SPACE, WHERE ARE YOU?!”

“right here bro.”

“PLEASE DON’T REMIND ME OF THAT, I’M DISGUSTED TO EVEN BE RELATED TO A PIECE OF FILTH LIKE YOU, ALL YOU DO IS WASTE TIME, AT LEAST TELL ME THAT YOU’VE DONE SOMETHING PRODUCTIVE. I SHOULD HAVE DISOWNED YOU YEARS AGO!”

“yeah, i caught a human.”

“YOU CAN’T EVEN COMPLETE THE MOST MENIAL OF TASKS LET ALONE SOMETHING WITH THAT LEVEL OF IMPORTANCE. ONLY A SKELETON SUCH AS MYSELF, I PAPYRUS THE POWERFUL AND TERRIBLE AM THE ONLY ONE WORTHY OF SUCH A FEAT, DO NOT DISGRACE YOURSELF FURTHER WITH YOUR PETTY LIES.”

You peer out around the edge of the station wanting to watch this exchange between the two of them. Papyrus looks more regal than ever, long black trousers and body armour with embellished skulls and cross bones on his belt, knee high red boots with thick dark straps wrapped across and matching gloves and scarf. He seemed to be the villainous counter-part to the heroic persona he previously crafted for himself.

“you want to know what’s pathetic bro? the fact that a wimp like you still isn’t in the royal guard yet, no matter how hard you try you never succeed. you should just give up; you will never amount to anything, why even bother.”

You hear a loud screech of rage from Papyrus, “Y-YOU, YOU WILL REGRET THIS SANS, I DON’T NEED YOU, FAMILY, FRIENDS IT’S WORTHLESS THEY’LL ALL ABANDON YOU IN THE END, LEAVE MY SIGHT!”

Sans continues to stand there unruffled, finally Papyrus turns his back to him and storms of.

“ya can come out now, he won’t be back for a while, isn’t my brother lame?”

You stare at him, you feel sick with how they were treating each other so callously, like they meant nothing to each other. “Don’t you love your brother?” You ask eventually.

“huh love, can’t say i think much of that, LOVE on the other hand, got plenty of that aimed at my brother.”

“Frisk come on we have to keep going,” Asriel murmurs from behind you. You nod still feeling deeply disturbed by what you just witnessed. _At least they weren’t physically attacking each other._

“what’s the long face for kid, it’ll be alright, he’s too weak to actually hurt you or anything?”

You ignore Sans and keep walking; Papyrus isn’t ahead of you where he was before, as you are walking you realise that it is getting dimmer, the further you go from the Ruins. You slip on a patch of ice, you can vaguely hear Sans snickering in the background, no longer in sight.

You come to the invisible electricity maze, Papyrus has his back turned to you, a quiet sobbing noise seems to be coming from him. Feeling sympathy for the way that Sans treated him you call out.

“Uh, hey, are you alright?”

He spins around automatically piercing you with the same furiously glowing light fixed in Sans’ eye. You see shock register on his face as he realises that you are a human before his sockets appear to narrow.

“OH COURSE I AM ‘ALRIGHT’ HUMAN, I COULDN’T POSSIBLY BE ANYTHING LESS THAN ‘ALRIGHT’, SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME NEVER CRIES, I DON’T NEED YOUR MISPLACED SYMPATHY, SAVE YOUR FEELINGS FOR THE PAIN YOU’RE ABOUT TO RECEIVE.” Without taking a breath he continues, “FINALLY I WILL HAVE ALL I DESIRE, EVERYONE WILL RECOGNISE AND FEAR ME, NEVER AGAIN WILL SOMEONE LOOK DOWN UPON ME. I WILL BE ACKNOWLEGED AS SUPERIOR TO ALL, WITH YOUR SOUL I WILL BECOME THE HEAD OF THE ROYAL GUARD!”

“Erm..” You stutter with uncertainty, _he’s not supposed to fight me yet._ “Surely if you are as great as you say you are then simply catching me wouldn’t be fitting of a person having a status of your calibre, don’t you need to show me all of your cunning traps.”

He looks stunned by your statement, drawing himself up to his full height looming over you, “SURPRISINGLY FOR SOMEONE AS IDIOTIC LOOKING AS YOURSELF YOU ARE CORRECT, CATCHING YOU IMMEDIATELY IS NOT BEFITTING OF SOMEONE WITH MY SKILL, I WILL SUBJECT YOU TO SO MUCH MENTAL TORTURE FROM MY ABSURDLY DIFFICULT PUZZLES THAT YOU WILL NO DOUBT BEG ME FOR A SWIFT, FLEETING DEATH.” He sweeps his arm out towards the invisible electricity maze, “THIS MAZE DELIVERS A ZAP OF 200 MILLI AMPS, ENOUGH TO STOP THE HEART OF A FRAGILE CREATURE LIKE YOURSELF, ONE WRONG STEP AND YOU WILL DIE.”

You desperately hope that the solution to the puzzle is the same as the last time; with a current that high it would surely kill you if you made the slightest mistake. Unlike the other maze this one stretches across up to the cliff so there is no way around it.

“Maybe we should turn back.” Asriel suggests.

“NYEH! YOU WOULD BE RIGHT TO FEAR ME, EVERYONE I MEET TREMBLES IN FEAR AT THE SOUND OF MY NAME; HOWEVER I WILL NOT LET YOU OFF THAT EASILY, YOU MUST PROGRESS OR I WILL KILL YOU RIGHT NOW WHERE YOU STAND.”

You stare defiantly at Papyrus, clutching the vain hope that the solution is the same, without breaking eye contact you walk as casually as you can manage across the maze. Papyrus’ socket widen in surprise.

“I SUPPOSE NOT ALL HUMANS ARE BRAIN DEAD, YET YOUR PUZZLE SOLVING SKILLS CANNOT POSSIBLY SURPASS MY OWN.” With that Papyrus runs off ahead as fast as he can, leaving you with a feeling of great relief.

You are mildly disappointed to find that the ball game is no longer set up, there is a snapped twig where the flag pole used to be and the hole seemed to be filled up with an odd greenish gunge, this reminded you of the slippery feeling of mustard lathering the bottom of your shoes, shuddering you move on from it, giving it one last melancholic glance. Obliviously you keep walking straight into two familiar figures. Dogamy and Dogaressa. A loud snarl is issued from one of the hooded figures, much like before they are swathed in black cloaks, however in place of the axes that they carried last time they hold flaming scythes, pointing towards your alarmed face.

“These guys don’t look like they can be reasoned with; I think perhaps we should run!” Asriel shouts.

In definite agreement you turn heel and flee from the imposing figures that give chase, you are firm in the conclusion that it wasn’t for the best to allow them to draw your soul out. You can almost feel their hot breath on your neck, Asriel’s pained squeaks  as he tries to sway his head out of the way of their snapping teeth don’t fill you with confidence that escape was possible. You feel Asriel shift in your backpack, drawing themselves out, suddenly there are howls of rage and fear from behind you, you risk a glance behind you, the Dogi had been assaulted with thick white bullets.

“Keep going, don’t just stand there!” Asriel bellows breathlessly.

“PAPYRUS!” You yell as you keep running.

“What are you doing, inviting him to kill us as well?” Asriel berates sarcastically.

A flaming red silhouette stands before you, a disgruntled expression on his face, “HUMAN, YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST SUMMON ME LIKE I’M YOUR PET, WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT, I HAVE HALF A MIND TO KILL YOU NOW?!”

You wildly gesture behind you at the dog sentries progressing faster and faster towards you despite their injuries.

“YOU WILL NOT TAKE MY PREY FROM ME, FILTHY MUTTS, THEY’RE MINE TO KILL. I ALONE WILL CLAIM THE GLORY FROM THEIR DEATH, BEGONE OR FACE MY WRATH!” Glowing red bones hurtle towards them, warding them off.

Dogamy manages to snap at your hand, you cry out in pain as you watch beads of garish blood appear. You notice Papyrus’ head whip around at the sound coming from you, for a second there is a flash of concern on his face before his expression hardens, more bones are sent towards the Dogi, a reluctant whine signals their defeat.

You look up at him with gratitude shining in your eyes, his deep scowl falters briefly before solidifying itself.

“STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT HUMAN, IT IS TRUE THAT I AM IMPRESSIVE BUT THAT WAS IN NO WAY FOR OUR BENEFIT, IF I AM TO PROVE MY POWER AND GREATNESS THEN I THE TERRIBLE PAPYRUS MUST CAPTURE YOU ALONE.” He dramatically flicks his scarf behind his back and places a hand on his hip as he attempts to intimidate you before marching off to his next puzzle.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You briefly wonder where Sans is, you hadn’t noticed his foreboding presence for a while now, _he was probably watching us being shredded by the dogs._

You take a deep breath, Asriel’s head pops up again as he extends his stem so that his face is in front of you, “What were you thinking? He could have very easily killed you.” His expression becomes pleading, “Please be careful Frisk, I can’t lose you.”

You smile at him, “I know that it was a risk but…did you see that look on his face, it was like he was worried about me!”

“I don’t know Frisk, you heard what he said. This Papyrus has different negative emotions ruling him when compared to Toriel, he feels loneliness, this has consumed him so that he has cut off a need for companionship, he just seemed to want to help himself…”

You shake your head determinedly, “No I’m getting through to him…slowly, he reacted when I was in pain, I’m sure that I can get him to remember me.”

With that thought in mind you can feel your determination bloom into another **SAVE** point, the expression of concern on Papyrus’ face fills you with determination.

 

 


	7. Why Do We Need To Feel?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You fight the Terrible Papyrus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this made me sad :(
> 
> Thank you everyone who has commented it makes me really happy.

By now you were feeling anxious by the lack of Sans’ presence throughout this part of your journey, before he had continuously followed you, encouraging you in his own _unique_ way, the fact that you hadn’t seen him since his argument with Papyrus couldn’t mean anything good. He had said that he meant you no harm; despite his trick with the joy buzzer he hadn’t tried to hinder you in any way at all. You pondered on what negative trait could possibly have consumed Sans, from his defeatist and somewhat nihilistic wording it would seem that he had become even more apathetic yet crueller, the way he treated Papyrus had made you feel horrified, no longer was he praising his brother as the _coolest_ , the way they interacted made it seem that these kind of exchanges were frequent.

You continued to muse over Sans personality as you progressed on to Snowdin, the absence of his half-assed attempt of a puzzle made your heart clench; now you would give anything to complete the wordsearch that was no longer here. You felt relief after **SAVING** ; there had been a distinct lack of attacks aimed towards you, not counting the Dogi after Papyrus’ intervention, you couldn’t help but wonder whether his presence was to blame for the lack of monsters in the area, you had yet to encounter Snowdrake or Ice Cap _. Could they possibly be intimidated by him_? You wonder.

Whatever the reason for the reduction of attacks opposing you, you were grateful. What did amuse you though, even if Papyrus was supposed to be completely merciless he was no better at creating puzzles that were undefeatable; they remained much the same but with an added aspect of danger like the fatal current on the maze.

Now you stood in front of one of his switch puzzles, having cleverly evaded Doggo (by walking behind the back of his station) you scan the puzzle quickly, you step closer to the edge of the puzzle, instead of there being the snowmen underneath or more accurately the snowskeleton and snowlump there was an array of spikes. Gulping you assess that the solution is the same and begin to slide over all of the switches. As you slide off of the last one and head for the end of the puzzle, with dawning fear you realise that a bridge hasn’t been constructed by the puzzle and you’re about to plummet of the side and be impaled by spikes.  

“Asriel!” You screech.

You shut your eyes in preparation for your impending demise.

You feel the solid weight of his vines wrap around your torso and the sensation of being dragged, opening your eyes in shock you see that he has extended other vines across the gap and is heaving you up.

You lay on the snow of the opposite side, taking in deep breaths of air out of relief.

“A-Asriel, you saved me.” You gasp out.

“What were you thinking, do you really expect Papyrus to play fair, he is trying to kill you after all, we should have anticipated traps like this before.” Seeing your crestfallen expression he ceases his chiding. “Hey it’s okay Frisk, I’ve got your back, you’re safe now.”

Giving a shaky smile you rise to your feet, it seems as if you had fallen over numerous times since entering the Underground.

It was an odd sensation to have your only ally be the one who attempted to kill you with the most vigour, yet in spite of this you trusted Asriel with your life, after gaining his love and compassion he truly was a completely different monster.

You briefly wonder where Lesser and Greater Dog were, so long as you didn’t have to confront them you were fine with their lack of presence. Eventually you come across a familiar sight, a table with a plate of spaghetti, it rather astonishes you that Papyrus would use this tactic. You glance over at the note left there.

‘HUMAN, YOU WILL BE SO ENTHRALLED BY MY EXPERTLY COOKED CUISINE THAT YOU WILL FAIL TO NOTICE THE COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF POISON LACING IT, SIGNED THE TERRIFYING CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARD, A.K.A,  ALMOST CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARD.’

You snort at the note, _even now, devoid of love, he was far from subtle._

“Is he for real?” Asriel wonders aloud.

You turn around abruptly hearing a rustling in the foliage.

“Hello?” You pause, “Sans?”

You are met with no response, shrugging it off as Sans following you around again you continue on to the next puzzle.

You stop in front of a bridge, _oh shit; I can guess what kinds of ‘improvements’ Papyrus will have made to this one._

“HUMAN! BEFORE YOU LIES YOUR MOST DANGEROUS CHALLENGE YET, IN A FEW MOMENTS YOU WILL BE SUBJECTED TO SWINGING BLADES, THE INTENSE BURN OF THE FLAMETHROWERS AND HIGH SPEED BULLETS; NOT TO MENTION THE BARK OF THIS ANNOYING DOG THAT PLAGUES MY LIFE.” He poses dramatically for effect, taking in the look of apprehension on your face. “SUCH A PITIFULLY WEAK HUMAN LIKE YOURSELF CANNOT POSSIBLY HOPE TO BEST THE WIT OF THE TERRIBLE PAPYRUS, LET’S SEE YOU GET THROUGH THIS, IF YOU ARE WORTHY THEN WE SHALL DUAL, IF NOT…” He pauses, “I WILL CLAIM YOUR SOUL REGARDLESS!”

With that the lever was flipped and the imposing weapons commenced their constant fire, you shuffle onto the edge of the bridge, _I know I’m fast but how to I avoid all of that?_ It is at that point when you notice a critical error with the planning of the bridge; the weapon trajectory path was all in straight lines horizontally coming up to your waist. You stand there for a moment longer assessing the pattern and making sure that it didn’t suddenly change.

“WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR FOOLISH HUMAN, DO I HAVE TO WAIT ALL DAY FOR YOUR FEEBLE BODY TO BE GROUND UPON MY EXCELLENT MACHINARY?” Papyrus insults from afar.

“It’s okay,” You whisper to Asriel, “I have a plan.” You get down on your knees and begin to crawl.

“WHAT IS THIS? ARE YOU BEGGING FOR MERCY, IS THAT IT?” he stares at you dumbfounded.

You keep crawling, feeling the occasional surge of heat as a flame comes too close to your back, the swords and axes miss you by miles. Having reached the end of the bridge you are met by the glare of Papyrus, he seems to be internally fuming, the flame in his left eye flickers dangerously bright as he spins on his heal and runs off calling out to you:

“I WILL BE WAITING FOR YOU HUMAN, YOU CANNOT PROGRESS WITH ME IN YOUR PATH, WHEN YOU CAN SUMMON THE COURAGE TO FACE THE ALMIGHTY FOE THAT IS ME, COME TO THE EDGE OF SNOWDIN. I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR ANNIHILATION, I MUST PREPARE FOR OUR FIGHT.”

“Well that went well.”

“Oh sure, you completely didn’t almost get torn to shreds or anything.” Asriel responds.

“Hey it could have gone worse; I’m still in one piece minus the damage of the Dogi.”

You hear Asriel huff behind you, you ignore this as you take in the sight of Snowdin Town, the cheerful banner in tatters. The Christmassy vibe and charm long since deserted the place, fairy lights were smashed, the black cords dangle aimlessly. You pass houses with shattered windows; the tree at the centre of the town lacks leaves and seems to have been burnt in several places, the distinct lack of presents feels wrong. There is a heavy atmosphere of depression in the air, you see Monster Kid scuttle past with his head bent down low, he seemed to be wearing a ragged red and black stripped jumper _, just like Dennis the Menace_ your mind supplies unhelpfully.

Finally coming across Grillby’s you look up at the sign, which actually says: **G’lb’s** you decide not to enter _, why tempt fate, especially when it would most likely come in the form of an unfriendly inferno?_ The wooden panels making up the building appeared to be scorched and blackened in multiple places, you shiver thinking of the possible fights that could have transpired here.

You peep through a window into the pub, you find that this is where the remaining dog sentries are, you are somewhat surprised to find that Grillby is now a violent hue of purple _, that doesn’t fit the red and black colour scheme here at all_. His flames flicker and seem to jump off of him unlike the calm Grillby you were acquainted with. You startle finding that his head is now raised to look up at you intruding through his window.

Giving a yelp you dart away from the window and run off as fast as you can from Grillby’s, passing by the Librarby, you had planned to go back to the shops for items but in light of recent events you decide against this.

“Where are you running to Frisk? Don’t you know what’s up here?” Asriel shouts.

You ignore him in favour of running away as fast as you can from the immediate danger before taking notice of his words, it was too late.

“HUMAN, YOU ARE FINALLY READY FOR OUR BATTLE.”

_Ah hell._

Papyrus is glowing with an aura of hatred and violence, a vicious crimson that pulses around him, he seems to have donned a matching red cape, which flutters in the wind that had become more forceful as you step closer.

In a futile effort to combat the insistent tugging on your chest your hands rise and press against the spot that your soul emerges from.

“WHAT A WEAK LOOKING SOUL, IT LOOKS DISEASED, I’M STARTING TO THINK THAT IT’S DOUBTFUL THAT A SOUL LIKE THAT COULD EVEN SHATTER THE BARRIER. I FEEL NAUSEOUS JUST LOOKING AT IT.”

“It wasn’t always like that,” you mutter sadly.

Taking no notice of your words Papyrus continues on, “WITH YOUR SOUL I WILL GET ALL I DESERVE, RESPECT AND FEAR. NEVER AGAIN WILL I BE LOOKED DOWN ON, AS THE NEW HEAD OF THE ROYAL GUARD I WILL BE SO BUSY THAT I WILL HAVE NO TIME TO DEAL WITH PETTY PROBLEMS….LIKE THE FACT THAT SANS IS NEVER HOME AND ….MY LACK OF FRIENDS.” He stops and scowls at the look of pity in your eyes.

“I can be your friend Papyrus.”

His expression flickers, surprise and what looks like hope, it is quickly quashed as flames burst from his hands and bones are sent towards your soul, he waves an arm and your soul becomes blue. You faceplant unused to the increase in gravity, you manage to evade the first wave of flaming bones by rolling out of the way and standing as quickly as possible. Your hand raises to your forehead, frowning at the sudden head rush.

“YOU REALLY THINK THAT I WOULD WANT YOUR FRIENDSHIP, YOUR EXISTANCE DISGUSTS ME. FRIENDSHIP IS A WEAKNESS, I LEARNT THAT LONG AGO, EVERYONE WILL BETRAY YOU EVENTUALLY. NEVER GET YOUR HOPES UP, NEVER TRUST ANYONE THEY NEVER HAVE GOOD INTENTIONS!”

Rows of bones are sent towards you one after another, having been defeated by Papyrus in the past you were familiar with his attack patterns, even his blue attacks, he had yet to land a hit on you, yet the pain of his words was more than enough to make you falter. Your legs start to ache from constantly jumping.

“That isn’t true Papyrus, I will never hurt you. In spite of all your attacks I have never harmed you. You can trust me.”

“NYEH! YOU DON’T ATTACK ME BECAUSE YOU ARE TOO WEAK TO HARM ME NOT BECAUSE YOU CARE ABOUT ME IN THE SLIGHTEST, FOR YOU TO ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT ME…THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE!”

His attacks seem to slow down as you continue to talk to him, or more accurately scream over the howling gales.

“Papyrus, you need to remember me, we used to be friends. I know you can’t remember yet, that’s okay, I need you to focus on your feelings.”

“FEELINGS? I HAVE NO FEELINGS, FEELINGS ARE FOR THE WEAK. WHY WOULD I TRUST A USELESS EXCUSE FOR A LIVING BEING LIKE YOURSELF, I AM CONTENT HOW I AM. BEING ALONE…I…I’VE NEVER BEEN HAPPIER!” His face looks conflicted.

“SHUT UP AND DIE!!!”

He suddenly summons a circular wall of bones, they draw closer to your soul, you panic at this attack, you are completely unfamiliar with it. It looked reminiscent of the attack Flowey used on you when you first met but made of bones, entirely unavoidable.

Asriel rears his head and sends pellets at the closest bones, they are unrelenting and the force of his projectiles cannot divert the course of the flaming bones.

You shut your eyes, “Papyrus, please! Don’t you want to make puzzles together? We can cook spaghetti like old times.” You struggle, desperately trying to think of something else. “I think that Crosswords are better than Junior Jumble.”

Papyrus is visibly confused by the last one, “YOU ARE OBVIOUSLY WRONG, JUNIOR JUMBLE IS BY FAR SUPERIOR, DON’T LISTEN TO SANS.” He pauses, brow creasing, _‘WHY DID I EVEN SAY THAT, WHAT’S HAPPENING?’_

Your eyes snap open, the bones are still advancing but slower, “Yeah, that’s right, hey  I bet that you’re feeling bone tired with all this fighting, you’re really putting your backbone into this aren’t you.”

An indignant screech meets your ears, “SHUT UP! SHUT UP! I DON’T WANT TO KNOW, I DON’T WANT TO FEEL!”

“What aren’t those puns humerus enough for you?” You keep going, _recognition flashing in Papyrus’ eyes, or at least you hoped, antagonising him anymore could be fatal._

“THAT IS ENOUGH!”  The bones slam into you, you cry out in pain.

“Frisk!” Asriel wails, “You, look what you did to my friend, they love you and this is how you would treat them!”

The pain is too much, you’re vaguely aware of blood trickling from your forehead, the agony was excruciating. You check your stats **HP: 2/11**

Papyrus stands there listening to your cries, his hand shakes as he prepares the next bone attack. _‘WHY ARE YOU HESITATING, THEY’RE PRACTICALLY DEAD, TAKE THEIR SOUL.’_ He drops the bone and cradles his head with one hand, the skull splitting headache rained havoc on his thought process as his mind is invaded by colour and warmth.

“NO, NO, NO! I HAVE TO WIN, I HAVE TO KILL YOU!”

You dully realise that Papyrus seems affected by the sounds coming from your broken, battered body on the floor. You find a stray bone on the ground with a sharp edge and rake it across your arm, a scream resounds from your throat.

Papyrus rushes over to you, yanking the bone out of your hand, “WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING? WHY WOULD YOU HURT YOURSELF LIKE THAT?”

You smile weakly, “Why? Could it be that you possibly care?”

This time you slam your head down on the ground, a moment of darkness invades your vision before you can see again. Papyrus looks at you with terror, his hand reaching out to cup your head, sockets stretched wide, tears seem to be spurting from them.

**HP: 1/11**

“NO, STOP…FRISK, I WONT LET YOU HURT YOURSELF, I WONT LET ANYONE HURT YOU AGAIN, MY FRIEND, PLEASE STOP!”

“Frisk what are you doing, are you trying to make this easier for him?” Asriel tries in vain to struggle out from beneath your back, wedged between your backpack and the ground.

Your vision swims, a smile of bliss crosses your face,

 “You called me your friend.” You murmur as you black out.

 


	8. Family Matters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *throws Sans at the screen* have some Sans, and kinda fluff at one point.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel bad for making Papy so sad all of the time,
> 
> Today I have seriously seen so many April Fools happening in Fics, don't worry I would never trick someone like that...

From afar an onlooker watches a curious scene unfold before him, the greatly feared and respected figure known as the Terrible Papyrus was sobbing over a small human child.

“NO, STOP…FRISK, I WONT LET YOU HURT YOURSELF, I WONT LET ANYONE HURT YOU AGAIN, MY FRIEND, PLEASE STOP!”

He watches as Papyrus bends down over the child to capture their head, they are drawn into his long gangly arms and carried off in the direction of his house.

_what the fuck is going on?  the literally heartless monster before him was reduced to a wreck over the broken form of a pitiful child that he was sworn to kill, and to think that i was so sure i wouldn’t even have to get my hands dirty…i see what that lady meant about the child being odd and merciful._

Sans just continues to stare after his brother before he remembers that he should probably continue monitoring the situation, in a brief flash of red he stands behind the back of the house.

_he’s still carrying the brat and the dumb weed, wait what’s that…?_

Papyrus’ form flickers as he wails over Frisks body, gently rocking them in his arms, the once threatening attire replaced with a heroic battle body of a white chest plate and blue hot pants, adorned with his previous red boots and gloves of a more cheerful candy like shade of red.

_what the hell does that idiot think he’s wearing? how did this even happen?_

Sans watches as Papyrus continuously apologises to Frisk over and over again before finally entering the house with them.

_papyrus doesn’t care about anyone but himself, that loser hates humans and denies all companionship, what’s so bloody special about that child?_

Feeling a sense of unease Sans decides to teleport to the door, a familiar place which was strangely comforting.

‘knock knock’

_“Who’s there?”_

Sans pauses, _it’s definitely the same voice, yet somehow it seems different, happier. they haven’t even complained about my company yet, what on earth is going on today?_

“anna”

_“Anna who?”_

“anna who you let out of the ruins.”

There was silence on the other side of the door.

 _“I-I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that.”_  
  


“hey what’s the difference between a car and a pile of dead babies?”

_“I don’t know, please stop, I don’t like where this is going.”_

Sans frowns, _she normally loves dead baby jokes._ “i don’t have a car in my garage.”

_“Sans! I asked you to stop.”_

Sans freezes, “where the fuck did you hear that name, i never told you that name lady, who have you been talking to?”

_“Erm, well…this is hard to explain, I remember you from another timeline, at least I think I do. I have memories of us speaking to each other and meeting face to face, something happened though…something bad. You should talk to Frisk they can help you.”_

“frisk.” He responds in a deadpan voice.

_“Yes, that’s right, do you know them? Anyway I would really appreciate it if you would protect them.”_

Sans usual smile widens sadistically, “don’t worry lady, i always keep my promises, i don’t back down from challenges.”

With that Sans began to walk away from the door, _i’m gonna find out what that kid did to everyone…alternate timelines, why does that sound familiar?_

He concentrates on Grillby’s, as his body shimmers with a glow of red, a sudden pain forces its way into his skull, like being prodded with red hot pokers, he clutches his skull and howls in pain. As his body blinks out existence he stumbles in front of the Librarby, not quite making his planned destination. Gasping for breath he leans against the wall, only to find that it is no longer abandoned, _i need a drink._

Shakily making his way into Grillby’s he is met with a chorus of greetings,

“Hey Sans.”

“Sup Sansy.”

“How’s it going Sans?”

Sans just looks blankly ahead, never before being greeted this way, so cheerfully, _like they actually like me or something._ He attempts to smile at them as he makes his way to his usual spot at the bar.

“gimme some mustard Grills.”

He is met with the disapproving expression of Grillby, _holy shit why is he orange, he used to be purple?_

“Manners Sans,” An indignant crackling responds, “I thought you preferred ketchup anyway.”

Sans grimaces at the thought of consuming ketchup, _so sweet and sickly, yuck!_

A rabbit strolls up to him casually, “I like your new jacket Sans, never thought I would ever see you part with that old blue thing you always wear.”

_what am i supposed to say to that? everything is messed up and it’s the kid’s fault, ketchup...blue...manners? who do these people think i am?_

Standing abruptly Sans walks out, much to the surprise of the other customers. He manages to teleport to his room, overcome with flashing images forcing their way into his head again.

**“d o n ‘ t  y o u  k n o w  h o w  t o  g r e e t  a  n e w  p a l , t u r n  a r o u n d  a n d  s h a k e  m y  h a n d.”**

**“have you ever heard of a talking flower before?”**

**“isn’t my brother the coolest?”**

**“what, haven’t you ever seen a guy with two jobs before?”**

**“you never gained any LOVE but you gained love”**

**“i’m rooting for ya”**

Sans lays down on his bed, curled up in a ball, moaning in pain, _stop, stop, make this stop, that isn’t me, i would never care about anyone like that…need to kill the kid…end it…_

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, you register faint voices in the background; _it’s so warm and comfortable, so soft. Where am I?_ Your eyes flicker open, a bright light blares down from the ceiling, you attempt to sit up, your head is heavy, raising one hand you can feel the rough folds of bandages wrapped around your head. Glancing across the room you spot numerous action figures and a box filled with bones. _I’m in Papyrus’ room!_

A startled voice calls out to you, “HUMAN PLEASE LAY BACK DOWN, YOU ARE NOT WELL ENOUGH TO GET OUT OF BED.”

You wince slightly at the volume of Papyrus’ voice, looking up into tear streaked sockets; you are filled with happiness radiating from your very being as you take in his appearance, restored to its former glory.

“Papy?” You whisper hopefully.

Another bout of tears spring from Papyrus, he kneels before the car bed that you’re lying in and pushes his skull against the duvet cover and whimpers.

“WHY WOULD YOU CALL ME THAT? AFTER ALL I’VE DONE TO YOU, YOU WOULD STILL ADDRESS ME WITH AFFECTIONATE NICKNAMES, I DO NOT DESERVE YOUR FRIENDSHIP, I DON’T DESERVE ANYONES.”

You place your hand on the top of his skull and stroke him gently making calm shushing sounds, the smooth surface is warm to your touch and trembling very noticeably.

“It’s okay, that wasn’t you. You will always be my friend.”

“NOO! I HURT YOU, YOU NEARLY DIED BECAUSE OF ME, HOW COULD I FORGET YOU? I TRULY AM PAPYRUS THE TERRIBLE, I AM A TERRIBLE PERSON AND AN EVEN WORSE FRIEND.”

Your arms curl around him as you pull him further onto the bed encircling his waist with your weak arms, “Papyrus, something bad happened, time reset itself and everyone was taken over by their worst emotions. This wasn’t your fault, the very fact that you could remember me and cared enough to stop fighting proves how great a person you are, you overcame your hatred and loneliness for me, that is the act of a true friend.”

Papyrus raises his head solemnly staring intently into your eyes, “DO YOU REALLY MEAN THAT FRISK?” You nod so furiously that you groan from the dizziness assaulting your head. “IN THAT CASE I WILL DO EVERYTHING I CAN TO ASSIST YOU, I TOO WISH TO **SAVE** MY FRIENDS FROM THIS FOUL PLAGUE THAT CONTAMINATES THEM!”

“Papy, it’s dangerous; so far we have only **SAVED** everyone in the Ruins.”

“THAT’S NOT TRUE, EVERYONE IN SNOWDIN SEEMS TO BE BACK TO NORMAL AS WELL, I HEARD CHILDREN PLAYING OUTSIDE WHILE YOU WERE RECOVERING AND IT’S NO LONGER DARK AND FILTHY, HONESTLY THE TOWN LOOKED WORSE THAN SANS’ ROOM.”

“Even if that’s true, soon I will have to face Undyne; do you really want to fight her?”

“THAT’S EVEN MORE REASON WHY I SHOULD COME, I KNOW ALL ABOUT HER IN THIS ICKY VERSION OF TIME, I PROMISED I WOULDN’T LET ANYONE HURT YOU AGAIN.”

You sigh, despite your initial worry you are secretly pleased that Papyrus would accompany you; his infectious optimism could be the greatest weapon you have against everyone else.

“Have you seen A-Flowey?”

Papyrus nods his head to the corner of his room, on his table near the computer there sits a plant pot with Asriel in, he seemed to be curled up asleep.

“HE STAYED AWAKE FOR SO LONG WATCHING OVER YOU THAT HE FELL ASLEEP, I GUESS HE DIDN’T TRUST ME TO CARE FOR YOU…” Papyrus trails off guiltily.

“We should let him sleep, he seems tired.”

“YOU KNOW, I USED TO BE FRIENDS WITH FLOWERY BEFORE, I DON’T THINK SANS LIKED ME TALKING TO THEM THOUGH…I SEEM TO RECALL SEEING THEM WITH US BEFORE THESE TIME SHENANIGANS OCCURRED…”

“Uh, yeah…they were…they’re called Flowey by the way, not Flowery, speaking of Sans have you seen him around?”

You see Papyrus’ jaw shake as his rubs his phalanges together nervously, “I-I’M AFRAID NOT, I HAVEN’T SPOKEN TO HIM SINCE OUR LAST CONVERSATION BEFORE I REMEMBERED YOU.” He seems to be on the verge of tears again.

“Hey, you know he didn’t mean the stuff he said to you right? He just needs **SAVING** like you did, I’m sure you can get your brother to remember then everything will be back to normal again, right?”

Papyrus hesitates for a second, “YOU’RE RIGHT HUMAN, AFTER ALL I AM AWARE OF HOW GREAT I AM, I AM MORE THAN UP TO THE CHALLENGE OF GETTING MY LAZY BROTHER TO REMEMBER THE PAST, OR IS IT FUTURE…I’M CONFUSED.”

“You giggle slightly at this, “Yeah, it is confusing isn’t it, I’m sure Sans will remember in no time.”

Your startled by a deep voice from the doorway of the room, “don’t ya know that it’s rude to talk about someone when they’re listening?”

Your head turns immediately, there stands Sans dressed in his usual blue jacket with ketchup stains, he grins smugly at your astonished face, “you look like you’ve seen a ghost kiddo.”

You struggle with the covers and Papyrus’ weight on the bed to get free, you nearly fall over, your legs still hurting from the battle earlier, you reach Sans and wrap him in a hug, breathing in the tomatoey scent.

He lifts you up as you clutch onto him, “looks like i managed to raise your spirits, huh frisk.”

“Sans!” You squeal, “How did you remember us.”

He rubs the top of his skull thoughtfully, “ya know, lots of little things triggered it, people in town saying stuff and you running around all over the place, i was bound to remember eventually.”

“BROTHER!” Papyrus jumps up to join the hug, “BECAUSE I AM SO GREAT I ELECT TO GRANT YOU FORGIVENESS FOR THE THINGS YOU SAID TO ME, I AM SURE YOU DIDN’T MEAN THEM, I TOO AM SORRY FOR THE WAY I ACTED.”

“you’re so cool bro.”

“I KNOW!”

“What’s with all the shouting?” A groggy Asriel mutters, their round eyes fix on you, “Frisk you’re okay, you’re alive.” Their eyes survey the room taking in the scene of you and the skeletons cuddling. “Did I miss something?” he eventually asks wryly.

“Come here.” You demand.

Sighing Asriel squirms out of the pot on the table and pulls himself up to reside in his favourite spot on your shoulder.

“not that i don’t like hugs or anything but this is getting awkward.” Sans grumbles.

You release him sheepishly, “I’m just so happy that you’re all okay.”

“I’M GOING TO GO COOK CELEBRATORY SPAGHETTI!” Papyrus bellows as he rushes out of the room, Sans shrugs,

“i’ll make sure he doesn’t blow anything up,” with a wink he disappears leaving you and Asriel alone.

“Well that was certainly something.”

“Hey Frisk, maybe you should check your **HP** again and see if it has gone up anymore.”

“That’s a good idea,” you agree.

**HP: 7/12**

Your brow crinkles slightly at the sight. Asriel notices your concern and views your soul, “Hey, it’s not that bad, you are healing quite well considering how badly you were hurt in that fight.”

You shake your head, “It’s not that, I just assumed that after every person I **SAVE** I would gain one **HP** , but Toriel, Papyrus and Sans have been **SAVED** and I’ve only gained **2** **HP** from it, I have gone from a max of **20** to **10** when I awoke, now it has increased to **12 HP**.”

Asriel looks confused, “Maybe it doesn’t respond to the number of people you **SAVE** but the area as a whole that you **SAVE** , the Ruins and Snowdin, after all there are a lot of denizens in those areas that were **SAVED** as well and you didn’t gain **HP** from that.”

You smile up at him, “Yeah, you’re probably right; I’m just over thinking things, I guess re-establishing bonds with my friends is helping me to feel **HoPe** again.”

“Why don’t you call Mom, she must be worried about you?”

You nod and take your phone out of your backpack that had been placed on a bedside cabinet, you had memorised Toriel’s number off by heart. The fact that she had never replied to your calls in the previous timeline was discouraging to say the least but you had hope that she would respond this time round.

_“Hello, this is Toriel.”_

“Hi Mom, it’s me and Flowey.”

_“Flowey and I, my dear, you really should have accepted those tutoring lessons I offered for you to take.”_

You pout at this, “My English is fine, anyway we called to tell you that we have managed to **SAVE** Snowdin.”

_“That is wonderful my child, I must admit I was rather worried about how it would go but after talking to Sans earlier I was reassured that he would watch out for you, he seems to remember the promise he made in the other timeline.”_

You shiver remembering the conversation you had with Sans once, **“** **that _promise_  i made to her... you know what would have happened  _if_  she hadn't said anything?** **Buddy… y o u ‘ d  b e  d e a d  w h e r e  y o u  s t a n d ”**

_“Flowey, have you been protecting Frisk?”_

Guilt seems to pass over Asriel’s face as they look up at your bandage bound head.

You quickly reply, “Of course he has, he stopped these dogs from attacking me, plus he helped me when I nearly fell off of a bridge.”

Asriel looks at you with gratitude.

_“You nearly fell off of a bridge, oh dear my child, maybe I should leave the Ruins after all, you are a danger to yourself.”_

“It wasn’t my fault.” You reply sulkily.

_“Flowey, thank you for keeping my child safe.”_

A look of longing and pain flashes in Asriel’s eyes, “T-Toriel?” They ask timidly.

_“Yes dear?”_

“Would it…would it maybe okay if you were my Mom too…” Asriel’s voice gets quieter as he finishes his request.

There is silence on the other end of the phone then a quiet sniffing, _“If that would make you happy, then I am more than satisfied with being a mother to you both.”_

“Thank you Mom.” Asriel breaths out.

_“Good luck my children.”_

The phone clicked off, you look up at Asriel who seems to be crying, gently lifting him off of your shoulder you ask, “What’s wrong?”

“I…I’m just so happy, I didn’t think I would be able to call Toriel Mom ever again, even though she doesn’t know who I am she has accepted me, I have my Mom back thanks to you, and I have you as well.”

You nuzzle Asriel’s face, “I guess that makes you my big brother now.”

Asriel puffs out his chest, _(well , his stem)_ with pride, “I will be the best brother ever.”

You snigger quietly, “You sound like Papyrus.”

He huffs in mock offense, “Come here Azzy, we might as well rest as long as we can, Papyrus will be a while in the kitchen.”

You curl up with Asriel in Papyrus’ racing car bed, your head is bandaged and you ache all over, yet this is the happiest you have been in a long time.


	9. Dreams And Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You explore Waterfall.

**You’re sitting on a swing in a playground, all alone, aimlessly swaying your legs without trying to gain any height. The air was warm and humid; you couldn’t even appreciate the nice weather that was here for a change. A loud sound in the distance startles you, coming closer and closer.**

**“If it isn’t the freak.”**

**You ignore them completely.**

**“Hey I’m talking to you,” The child pushes you off of the swing, your head makes a dull ‘thunk’ sound as it hits the concrete, staring up in bewilderment you remain mute.**

**“Look at you, no friends; no one will ever come and save you, I can do whatever I want to you.”**

**You call for help…but nobody came.**

**“Hah, so vulnerable. Don’t worry little anomaly soon it will all be over.”**

**They draw out a knife.**

**“Scream for me.”**

You wake up screaming, the phantom feeling of the cool blade on your neck makes you wince and brush your fingers against the spot.

“Frisk are you alright?” Asriel demands by your side, his mouth is turned down at the corners as he appears to search you for injuries.

“I-I’m fine, it was just a dream.” Your voice is dry from being asleep. “How long was I out for?”

“Only half an hour, Papyrus came in with spaghetti earlier but you were fast asleep, I told him to leave you, you looked like you could really do with some rest. Now I kinda feel guilty for letting you sleep, if I woke you up you wouldn’t have had that nightmare.”

You ruffle the petals on Asriel’s head, “Hey, it was just a dream, oddly vivid though almost like it was parodying a memory of mine.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well on the surface I didn’t have many friends, some kids used to pick on me. The dream started off like one of my memories except the person doing it was someone I have never met before, like they replaced the one in my memories, they said some weird stuff to me too.” Seeing Asriel’s concerned expression you stop.

“What did the person look like?”

“Huh, I don’t really remember, they were another kid about my age, it’s sort of hazy.”

“You sounded like you were in pain.”

Your face darkens, “Yeah.” You mutter.

You swing your legs out of the bed and stretch, you extend your arms hearing the joints pop.

“that doesn’t sound too healthy bucko.”

You flinch, “Christ Sans, when did you get in here, did you never learn how to knock?”

Sans grins at you from the doorway, “welp, i’m pretty familiar with knocking but the temptation to make jokes is too great, i think if i make any more jokes today Paps’ll have a nervous breakdown.”

You shake your head in disapproval, “I don’t get why you make them all the time.”

“don’t knock it till you try it kid.”

You groan, Sans just chuckles and leaves the room.

You make your way down the stairs unsteadily, the aching in your legs is only minor compared to yesterday, Asriel wriggles off of your shoulder onto the bannister, getting a steady grip on it with his vines he slides down while giggling. You raise an eyebrow at him; his face turns down in embarrassment.

“I wanted to do that since I was little but I could never get a good grip on the railing before.” They shrug, feinting nonchalance.

You hear a loud clattering from the direction of the kitchen, it sounds as if someone is hurling things at the wall, _seeing how Undyne cooks it wouldn’t be surprising if Papyrus was throwing tomatoes at a wall._

You cautiously enter the kitchen; something is hurled towards your face, immediately ducking you whip your head around, a tomato that was on course for hitting you had caught Sans in the face.

“OH I’M SORRY BROTHER, UNDYNE TOLD ME THAT I HAVE TO PUT ALL OF MY AGGRESSION INTO THROWING THE VEGETABLES TO GIVE THEM EXTRA FLAVOUR, THE POT WAS TRYING TO RESIST ME BUT I WILL NEVER SUCCUMB TO ITS ENDEAVOURS!”

For a second you think you see the lights fade from Sans’ eye sockets, you frown in worry. He smiles up at Papyrus, “don’t worry bro; after all i love them from my head to-ma-toes.”

_Must have been imagining things._

“SANS! WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT MAKING PUNS AT THIS TIME OF DAY?”

Sans picks up a burger off the counter and takes a mouthful, condiments drip down his jaw, “but i was really on a roll.”

“SANS!”

He just waves lazily up at his brother as he strolls out of the room with his food; Papyrus grinds his teeth and resumes throwing tomatoes into the cooking pot at full strength.

“Are you really mad at him for making puns?” Asriel asks curiously.

“IT ISN’T THAT, HE MAKES THEM ALL THE TIME IT IS INFURIATING,” Papyrus pauses for a moment, deep in thought. “AT THE VERY LEAST I AM GLAD THAT HE IS FEELING LIKE HIMSELF AGAIN, THOSE PUNS ARE BACK TO THEIR USUAL AWFUL STANDARD, WHY MUST SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME PUT UP WITH SUCH TOMFOOLERY?”

You sit down at the table, mentally preparing yourself for the oncoming hardship, otherwise known as eating Papyrus’ cooking. A plate is placed in front of you, _at times like this I envy some of the monsters for forgetting the past timeline, the taste of this isn’t something I would want to remember in a hurry._

Asriel smirks at your expression as he stretches his roots out onto the table top.

You wind your fork around a few strands, _oh god, is that glitter again..?_ You suddenly smile evilly, “Hey Paps, don’t you think Flowey would like to try some of your cooking?”

The nasty look Asriel shoots you would rival his earlier Flowey days as a soulless monster.

Papyrus raises his arms in the air dramatically, “OH I’M SUCH A TERRIBLE HOST, I CAN’T BELIEVE I FORGOT YOUR PORTION LITTLE FLOWER.”

Asriel’s eyes widen, “Hey, it’s okay...you don’t have to trouble yourself.”

“NONSENSE FLOWEY, I COULD NEVER DEPRIVE MY FRIEND OF MY EXPERTLY COOKED CUISINE.”

As you raise the fork to your mouth you are filled with…trepidation, half an inch away from your parted lips, suddenly Papyrus’ phone rings, you drop the fork hastily.

Even though the phone isn’t on speaker you have no trouble discerning the voice and message coming from it.

“OI USELESS! You said you had captured a human, where’s the little twerp you were so proud of huh?”

You look up at Papyrus and mouth ‘You told her?’

Shame and guilt riddles his expression, “UH…WELL…YOU SEE…UNDYNE…”

“That’s CAPTAIN to you! Where’s your overflowing pride and ego? Don’t tell me they escaped, I don’t see why I put up with scum like you in the Royal Guard. Looks like I will have to capture them myself!”

Horror flashes across Papyrus’ face, “NO UNDYNE W-WAIT, IT ISN’T LIKE THAT, WE NEED TO TALK!”

“Oh we will be having words, before I surplex you into next week and tear out that cowardly spine of yours.  ‘Ooh I’m the Terrible Papyrus feared by everyone and I can’t even catch a measly little child.’” They mock in a high pitched voice. “After I catch that child you’ll never show your face around Waterfall again or the rest of Snowdin for that matter.”

Tears start to tickle down from the edge of Papyrus’ sockets, “U-UNDYNE, I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS, PLEASE-JUST LISTEN TO ME!”

“Fuhuhuh!  Are you crying? such a pathetic wimp, why would anyone want to be friends with you?!”

You stand up from the table and walk towards papyrus, the phone is held slack in his hand away from his ear, you press the ‘end call’ button. Papyrus looks up in distress,

“I-I’M SO SORRY HUMAN, I CALLED HER BEFORE I REGAINED MY MEMORY…IT’S…IT’S ALL MY FAULT…SHE’S GOING TO KILL YOU…I…”

You gently tug the phone away from his hand, “It’s okay, we’re going to fix this, Undyne will remember soon, all those things she said aren’t true, you can surely remember how much she cares about you from last time.”

He sniffs loudly, “I-I THINK I’M GOING TO REST FOR A MOMENT, I JUST NEED A WHILE TO THINK.”

You gaze after him sadly as he trails up into his bedroom, a loud click signals his door locking for the first time in forever. You reach an arm out for Asriel so he can climb up onto your shoulder again; pausing outside of the living room door you give one last lingering look up at the door to his bedroom before leaving the house.

It’s snowing again, the wisps gently fluttering onto the top of your head, you fasten your coat up and begin to walk around Snowdin, taking in the cheerful setting when compared to how it looked when you initially arrived was soothing, a reminder that it was possible to **SAVE** everyone. You continue on east until you reach a thicker flurry of snow, the place where you had fought Papyrus the other day, you look down to where you had fallen, any imprint made by the impact and blood was now smoothed over  by a fresh blanket of snow, wiping away the evidence…just like everyone’s memories.

“Where are we going Frisk?”

“Waterfall.” You say shortly.

You glance up at Asriel’s bemused face, “What about Papyrus, didn’t you say he was coming with us?”

“I can’t do that to him. Just hearing how angry Undyne was on the phone nearly traumatised him; I don’t want to see what kind of effect she will have on him in person.”

“If you’re sure…” Asriel mutters uncertainly.

You head into Waterfall. As soon as you reach the proximity of it your nose is assaulted by the scent of mildew and mold, the water is almost black with all of the filth polluting it, you’re surprised that the viscous substance is even capable of flowing. You kneel down to take a close look at it on the bridge; it churns softly, like it’s acknowledging your presence. A tendril rises from the ‘water’ and reaches for you, giving a squeak of surprise you jump back. _Ah hell, it looks like one of those creepy Sorrows from the void, is it possible it is one? [REDACTED] told me they feed off of negative emotions._ You try to concentrate harder, _who was it that told you about them, when focusing on them in your mind you only made out a hazy figure, what’s their name?_ Thinking so intently about the alluding answer frustrated you immensely.

“Uh Frisk, you might want to leave.”

Your focus snaps back into reality, nodding slightly you leave the bridge watching the black goop warily. You eventually reach a sentry station, _isn’t Sans supposed to be here to offer a visit to Grillby’s?  Oh well I can’t expect events to play out like last time, he’s probably busy._

Walking on you stare at the scene in front of you in apprehension, before where lumps of ice fell from a waterfall, thick black spiked balls tumbled down, they had some kind of net attached, it looked  as if they grapple onto a person and crush them under the weight of the impact and spikes combined.

“So…any ideas how to get across?”

“Well technically I could just burrow, but I can’t leave you behind.”

“Let’s wing it!” you shout, feinting optimism, Asriel stares at you like you’re insane, with determination you rush forwards, the spikes skimmed your left shoulder and you nearly snag your foot in a net, with the constant evading you finally reach the end.

“Well, that was fun.”

“You-You, You could have gotten yourself killed…why? Frisk you have to be more careful.”

“I have infinite chances to get it right though don’t I, I’m used to dying anyway.”

A hurt expression crosses Asriel’s face at these words, “I know, I was responsible for a lot of them.”

Noticing this you back pedal, “I didn’t mean it like that Asriel, I just don’t want you to worry about me so much, we had to find a way across, and look I’m fine, right?” You gesture to your unharmed body.

“I suppose… “

“Let’s keep going.”

You come across the reeds, the place where Papyrus made his report the other time, just like the other places in Waterfall it was curiously silent, _still no sign of Undyne, what is she up to?_ After swiftly completing the Lilly pad puzzle you come to a place you remembered only too well, the wishing room.

Looking up at the ceiling hopefully, you are met with dull looking rocks, barely radiating any light in the semi-dark cavern. _Looks like they have as much hope and as many dreams as I do at this point._

Staring at them filled you with melancholia, so many lost wishes matching the monster’s lack of love, it was heart wrenching. You continue to stand there; Asriel too is silently acknowledging the changes with as much despair as yourself.

“I used to come here to wish with my sibling, we dreamed of a better future than this…”

You don’t respond, watching his trembling expression sadly, Asriel sighs, “I don’t like it here, it reminds me of everything that went wrong, how everything I stood for was lost by my own hatred and lack of a soul.”

You don’t comment as you continue up the path, remembering that there is a covered wall ahead,  cringing you walk onto the moving platform ignoring the fact that some preternatural being from beyond the void was now propelling the boat in place of the tranquil azure waters. The raft jolts as it comes to the end of its circuit, _there was still no sign of Undyne, for someone who seemed so determined to catch you she was taking her sweet time._ You weren’t even subjected to her array of spears on your journey yet, the previous memory made you all the more cautious of this area, you expected a familiar electric blue spear to pierce you any second.

Moving on, your hand brushes the lens of a telescope not yet wet with the ink that you were aware of from last time. _This world is so messed up that Sans is too busy and stressed out to prank me even when he is his usual self._

You notice that like in Snowdin few monsters even approached you; you occasionally caught a glimpse of a shadow in the corner of your eye fleetingly before the oppressive presence vanished as soon as you took notice of it. _Maybe these monsters are so consumed by negativity that they’re too depressed to even leave their houses._

You come across a long stretch of black liquid, _isn’t this where Onionsan lives?_ A long thick red tentacle rises from the putrid waters, _nope, nope, I’m out of here, the last time I saw this I was creeped out enough before finding out they were friendly, this time I’m not taking any chances._

A tentacle shoots out towards you, you duck out of the way and start to run, a grotesque face breaks through the water, it seems deformed and almost like it was made of melting red plasticine. _Oh god_.

“What the hell is that?” Asriel screeches in panic.

A deep voice rumbles out, “A…human…it’s your fault that I am imprisoned here…I should be out in the great sea where I belong but your kind trapped me here.”

You continue to run, “You did this! Do you hear? I’ll get my revenge!”

One tentacle passed close to your face, it smelt strongly of ammonia, finally reaching the end of the god forsaken room you pant heavily ignoring the angered rumbles from Onionsan.

Asriel was shaking, “I-I did that to him, when I-I took his hope and love, I am a terrible person.”

You pull Asriel off of your shoulder and hug him, “No you’re not, this is my fault, if I hadn’t had given up and believed in my friends this wouldn’t have happened, you weren’t in control of yourself and I was…I’m the one to blame…”

You stop walking with Asriel in your arms, you reach a statue.

“Wait here a moment.”

You release him onto the ground, he stares after your retreating figure anxiously, you return holding an umbrella and place it above the statue, it’s more cracked that it was last time; the same hauntingly beautiful tune fills the air.

You sit down next to Asriel and just listen, you don’t know how long the two of you remained there, completely in a world of your own, amongst this madness this was one of the few places untainted by the corruption. Your eyes begin to feel heavy and your limbs ache from running around all day on top of your healing injuries, you begin to curl up on your side.

“Frisk, do you think it wise to rest here?”

“I’m too tired to move anywhere else.” You vaguely wonder why Papyrus hasn’t called you since you left, it was getting late.

“Okay, I’ll keep first watch then.” Asriel whispers.

Your eyes drift shut, a soft weight is placed on top of you, your eyes flutter open momentarily, Asriel had found some kind of shrubbery of lime green and yellow coloured leaves, you smile softly at the gesture.

 _It was surprising really that any kind of plant here in Waterfall still possesses colour and life, such pretty colours,_ you shut your eyes again, yellow and green pulsing in your head, you suddenly remember something from earlier on in the day, _aren’t these the colours of that child’s jumper that I saw in my dream?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today:
> 
> Mum: what exactly do you do in your room on an evening?
> 
> Me: Uh, you know, Facebook, Youtube *closes AO3 page quickly*


	10. Undying Hatred

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guess who you meet in Waterfall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Megalovania is the best thing ever to listen to in the gym

**You recognise a familiar scene, below you a great stretch of trees lie, in the distance there are gentle slopping hills, the sun dips slowly shedding rose tinted light onto the mountain top where you stand. _This was the day I fell down the hole in Mt. Ebott._ You peer down at the dark abyss, endlessly sinking into the core of the mountain.**

**“Greetings. So, are you going to jump then?”**

**You spin around, _this isn’t right; I was alone when I fell down._ The child from your previous dream stands before you, a wide grin stretched across their face, cheeks flushed cheerfully.**

**“Who are you?” You find yourself asking.**

**A peel of laughter erupts from them, at your confused expression they just smirk playfully.**

**“Haha, I forgot that this timeline version of you is more of a wimp than the others.”**

**_Other timelines, wasn’t I told something similar in the void about them merging or something like that?_ **

**“It is of little consequence, you’ll either do my bidding like the others or I will simply eliminate you.”**

**They stretch out an arm, clothed in a green and yellow stripped jumper, similar to the one you had seen at Toriel’s house, “How about it partner, want to make a deal?”**

**You shake your head, “I’m not making any kind of deals, not without knowing what they entail, what do you mean about this timeline version of me anyway?”**

**They scoff at you, “Such an ignorant little anomaly, are you not aware of multiple timelines existing?  I’ve had dealings with different iterations of you in the past, you however haven’t even reset before let alone gained any LOVE in this timeline, you’re a lot more innocent than the others.”**

**“L-LOVE, but Sans told me that was a bad thing…”**

**They smile at you kindly, “Do you really trust everything you hear? LOVE is what makes you strong in this world, if you had had LOVE when you faced Asriel you wouldn’t have cared either way about what a bunch of monsters thought of you, you wouldn’t have caused this corruption in the first place.”**

**You back away from them, your back is facing the hole in the mountain top, “You’re trying to change the subject, what do you want from me.”**

**For a moment their smile twists and their lip curls before smoothing out, they flash you with another award winning smile, “Golly you must be really confused, I’m offering to help you, I know how to repair this timeline.”**

**“Why do you care? How do you even know different versions of me anyway?”**

**Their eyes had a permanent glassy look, something seems to glow in them for a second, “When you transcend reality you are no longer part of one timeline or any for that matter.” This explanation seems familiar to you. “I can interact with any timeline’s iterations, but then _they_ changed that, t _hey_ erased multiple ones and merged the remaining, the past timeline and this particular one _they_ created themselves. The others don’t exist because of _them_ ; it’s incredibly boring, now I only have this one to watch over.”**

**You stand their unsure, before you stands a child who appears to be lost in the void, calling out to you, they claim to know you from other timelines, _maybe we were friends, they seem upset and angry like the others, maybe I can help them._**

**You smile uncertainly at them, encouraged by this the child steps closer, “I know we got off to a bad start last time, I was just trying to communicate using a familiar scene, just let me help, let me in.”**

**Although their gestures are friendly you feel a spike of fear at their proximity, stepping back again you suddenly have nothing to stand on, you had literally walked into the hole backwards, you gasp out in surprise as you fall, looking up at their face as they watch from the surface, watching you fall.**

**“Talk to you later partner.”**

You sit up abruptly, the feeling of falling seems to have followed you into waking, Asriel glances up at you.

“Finally you’re awake, you’ve been out for ages Frisk, we need to get going before we’re caught here.”

You yawn quietly and scoop them up, “Morning Azzy.”

They roll their eyes at the nickname and wind their vines around your arm, “We need to be careful, we’ll probably run into Undyne today, I’m surprised there’s been no trace of them so far.

You draw your phone out of your pocket, still no messages or missed calls, you feel a surge of guilt, _maybe we shouldn’t have left Papyrus at home when he was feeling upset, oh well he has Sans to look after him anyway._

“You’re right, we need to stay on our toes,” Asriel pointedly looks down at his stem and roots. “Meh, you’ll be _pollen_ your own weight don’t worry.

“Papyrus is right, Sans is a terrible influence on you.”

You laugh and walk away from the statue, the soft music fading as you walk further away from it; you pick up another umbrella and hold it over Asriel.

A small monster in a red and black stripped jumper stands in the rain scowling at you, _oh it’s Monster Kid, I think I saw him briefly in Snowdin, looks like he didn’t get reverted back to normal like the other people of Snowdin._

You wave at him slightly which was a difficult task considering you had a flower wrapped around one arm and an umbrella in the other hand, their scowl intensifies as they turn their back to you.

“Hey, do you want to share my umbrella?” You offer.

Their eyes fix on you mistrustfully as they turn back round, “Yo, so you’re going to flaunt the fact that you have arms, ‘oh you’re so much better than me’” They whine sarcastically, “Not, I don’t need your pity dude, you can shove that umbrella up your ass.”

You hesitate, _I can either keep trying to talk to them and help them regain their memories or **SAVE** Undyne, it looks like most monsters life forces are tied together somehow, so even if I try **SAVING** him it might not work, that Whimsun in the Ruins couldn’t be **SAVED** until we had **SAVED** Toriel._

You walk up to them and remove a scarf from your backpack, something that Toriel had forced you to take with you, you stretch it out and wind it around Monster Kid’s waist.

“W-What do you think you’re doing dude!” They protest.

You ignore his struggles and Asriel’s bewildered expression as you fix the pole of the umbrella through the looped belt it made around their waist.

“See, now you can use an umbrella without anyone’s help.”

They look puzzled as if they are trying to work out an ulterior motive, shifting in place uncertainly and testing the weight. They come to the realisation that this isn’t a trick, “Whatever dude, it’s not like I care what you do or anything.”

You smile in triumph and wave with your now free hand, you are getting soaked by the rain and Asriel is grumbling in your ear, yet you are happy that you were able to get to through to them even if it was only a little.

You can now see the silhouette of the castle in the distance, what was once a beautiful yet foreboding sight was now just foreboding, the building looks as if it has sustained a lot of damage. Where there were once fixed glowing stones to imitate stars you are met with an empty ceiling and a scattering of worn torches barely illuminating the path. There had been a bluish hue to the castle in the past from the artificial lights now the twisted figure of the castle just looked like solidified shadow, darker than black.

You approach a ledge, _woops; this is where Monster Kid helped me last time, looks like I won’t have their assistance._

Asriel notices you analysing the raised ledge, they crawl off of your shoulder and extend a vine up to the top, they pull themselves by shortening the vine, creating the appearance of a tape measure when the end is drawn back into the main part. Reaching down from the top another vine is sent down and wrapped around your waist; you press your hands against the wall to balance as Asriel pulls you up.

“Wow, your vines are really strong.”

They look smug, “I’m stronger than I look.”

Making a quick **SAVE** point just in case, the thought of Monster Kid grudgingly accepting your friendship fills you with determination.

You continue on to the rickety wooden planks where you had been chased by Undyne, cautiously stepping forward you find no obstructions, each time you step you feel uneasy, the ground seems too brittle. As you reach the centre of the platform the entire floor is lit up with a red glow, unlike last time with the occasional blue spot on the ground you find the entire thing lit up like a bonfire.

Staring at Asriel in horror you try to speak, dozens of red spears surge through the ground impaling you instantly, scolding hot, as if they were made of fire, they pass through the ground shattering the stability of the ground. A hacking cough is uttered from your throat, scarlet blood seeping into your clothes mingling with the aura of Undyne’s power.

You barely register that you are falling, the pain is too great, searing hot, so many spears puncturing your limbs and torso in multiple places, the agony was too much. Your arms don’t even flail as you pass through the air, stiff and tense as you try desperately to remain conscious. Your vision blurs, the tormenting burns and the encompassing darkness as you fall blending into a deadly poison counteracting your remaining determination.

In your last coherent thoughts you think of Asriel, most likely receiving the same thing.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**In the hazy darkness between life and death a child waves cheerfully at you.**

Your steps jolt as your future memories configure with your past body, your hands quickly smooth over your torso as if searching for the gaping wounds left by Undyne’s spears. Asriel stiffens on your shoulder.

“W-We…just died.” He whispers.

Swallowing you nod your head, “Yeah…we did.” You suddenly sit down in the corridor before the platforms, you curl your arms around your scrunched up legs. “I haven’t died since waking up in this timeline before today…guess I should be used to it, huh.”

“I remember it too…I always remember the **LOADS** , that hurt, a lot.”

You press your head against your knees and rock slightly.

“Frisk?”

“I-we…there’s no point going out there again, we didn’t even see Undyne, looks like she had been planning that attack for a while now, if we can’t even see her from our vantage point how can we reason with her? There is no point walking out there, we’ll be shredded to pieces again.”

“We need to make a new plan.” Asriel agrees.

You take your phone out of your pocket again, shakily you type in a number:

“GREETINGS HUMAN, I HAD NOTICED YOUR ABSENCE AND WAS UNSURE WHETHER I SHOULD ATTEMPT TO FIND YOU, HOWEVER MY BROTHER ASSURED ME THAT YOU WOULDN’T HAVE GONE FAR, AFTER ALL WE MADE PLANS TO TRAVEL TOGETHER!”

“Uh…yeah…about that…”

“FEAR NOT, I KNOW THAT YOU WENT ON AHEAD.  I AM GRATEFUL FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION TOWARDS MY FEELINGS AND SAFETY BUT I WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF YOU WOULD TELL ME WHERE YOU ARE.”

You burst into tears, “Please P-Papyrus, we need your help, Undyne…she’s set a t-trap, we can’t…”

There’s silence on the other end of the phone as you’re unable to finish speaking.

“I’M COMING FRISK.” Says a firm voice. “WAIT THERE FOR ME, I THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL RESCUE YOU!”

The phone clicks off, squeezing the phone in your hand you slowly lower it from your ear and place it back in your pocket.

You sit there in silence, no longer crying, _get a grip on yourself, you’ve died plenty of times before, this is nothing new._ The corridor is dark as you huddle there with Asriel, you hear footsteps moving closer towards you.

“Papyrus?” you ask.

A tall looming figure stands before you, illuminated with a rich shade of red wine light, clothed all in black armour, thick spikes protrude from the shoulder pads casting the same light. In the centre of their chest plate the likeness of a broken heart is imprinted. You meet the gaze of their single eye, the other had a thick metallic strap with a circular piece of red glass fixed in it in place of an eye patch.

Their imposing figure glares down at you silently from the end of the corridor, matching red boots coming up to their thighs taking steps closer and closer.

“Human.”

You rise unsteadily to your feet, back pressed against the wall, Asriel shifts forward onto your arm, alert.

“Did you really think you could hide from me.” Another step, “I bided my time, waiting for your arrival and you would mock my efforts my sitting here shivering in terror.” She hisses out.

“All of you humans are the same, filthy murderous cowards, a plague upon this world.”

You try to move away from her but you are frozen in terror.

As Undyne tries to close the gap between the two of you a white pellet is shot at her, hitting her straight in her uncovered eye. She snarls in rage and pain rubbing furiously at it.

“Quickly Frisk we have to go!”

You keep edging away along the wall before breaking into a sprint, charging through the rain as fast as you can running smack into Papyrus. Their hands grasp your shoulders as they attempt to hug you.

“HUMAN I KNOW YOU MUST BE EXCITED TO SEE ME BUT I AM AFRAID THAT I STILL ONLY HARBOUR PLATONIC FEELINGS TOWARDS YOU!”

You push Papyrus desperately and try to turn him round, “Not now Paps, we have to run, Undyne’s after us!”

“GET BACK HERE YOU MISERABLE COWARD!” You try to run but you are grabbed by the neck of your jumper and yanked up into the air then thrown against the nearest wall, groaning in pain you sit up only to be slammed into the wall again, Undyne’s gills were flared out in rage as you can feel the hostility radiating off of her.

“UNDYNE PLEASE STOP THIS, LET’S JUST TALK!”

A pulsing red spear is hurled in Papyrus’ direction, he barely side steps out of the way of it, “IF YOU WISH TO FIGHT ME UNDYNE YOU’LL HAVE TO DO BETTER THAN THAT NYEH HEH HEH, AFTER ALL YOU TRAINED ME TO BE THE BEST!”

She whips her head around to glare at him, keeping one tightly enclosed fist in your hair, “WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU ON ABOUT! USELESS IDIOT! As if I would ever train someone as pathetic as you”

Undyne analyses his clothing and throws her head back in laughter, “Fuhuhuh, that’s ridiculous, I knew you were a childish wimp, now you actually dress like one, I should have cut you out of the Royal Guard years ago.”

They twist their wrist, pulling a hunk of your hair out, you scream in pain.

“That’s right brat, scream for me, you deserve this!”

“What did I ever do to you?” You gasp out.

Papyrus runs up to Undyne and pulls her away from you, “STOP THIS UNDYNE, IF YOU CARE ABOUT THE FUTURE OF MONSTERKIND AT ALL THEN YOU’LL LISTEN TO ME!”

Undyne forces a spear through your clothing, keeping you pinned to the wall as she turns her attention back to Papyrus.

“As if I care about them, I don’t give a fuck about anyone, this is my chance for revenge. If you have the slightest bit of pride then you’ll let me kill them!”

Papyrus raises his arms in a gesture of peace, “PLEASE UNDYNE, I BELIEVE IN THE GOOD IN YOU, I KNOW YOU CAN CHANGE, JUST LET US HELP YOU. YOU ALWAYS CARED ABOUT THE WELL BEING OF EVERYONE ELSE, PUTTING THEIR HOPES AND DREAMS FIRST.”

Undyne hurls volley after volley of spears at Papyrus, luckily after his training with Undyne he was used to her attack pattern.

“Keep still and die or run away you fool!”

“NEVER! WE WILL **SAVE** YOU UNDYNE, FROM YOURSELF!”

They clench the fist in fury and surplex the nearest rock at him, Papyrus dives out of the way and scoops up Asriel who had become dislodged from you after so many assaults.

“Do you think this is a fucking anime?! There are no happy endings.”

You struggle against the spear lodged in the wall, It cleanly passed through your clothing, you swing from side to side on the wall trying to increase the size of the hole in the fabric, the tear gives way and you fall back to the ground with a clatter.

“Why do you want revenge Undyne?”

The next rock is surplexed at you, too tired to move you allow it to collide with your shoulder, your shoulder protests in agony as you put weight on your hands to stand. You still stand outside in the pouring rain, completely drenched and drained of energy, Undyne hadn’t even extracted your soul for battle yet she was simply inflicting physical pain on your body out of pleasure.

“Who are you to talk to me, you want to know what your kind did? I couldn’t care less about the other monsters being trapped here, I just want to avenge my parents!”

You stare at her in shock _, I don’t remember her ever mentioning parents in the previous timeline._

“If they were killed by a human then killing me isn’t avenging them, your just finding a scapegoat to vent your anger out at!” You shout.

“SHUT UP! I don’t care, every human is as bad as each other. If I take your soul then I can get my revenge on the whole of humanity as they succumb to my rage.”

_So if every monster is overcome by their strongest negative feeling Undyne’s is certainly anger and vengeance. Before she must have put it aside so she could focus on the wellbeing of the other monsters, so she could care for the future of monsters as a whole, now she seems to just want revenge against humans for killing someone personal to her. How do I get her to care?_

“Think Undyne, how will my death help anything? Chances are, whoever killed your parents is already dead when you compare our lifespans.” That seemed to be the wrong thing to say.

She grabs you by the throat and chokes you, “I don’t care, if that is true then all of humanity will share the punishment…STARTING WITH YOU!”

“NO UNDYNE STOP!” Papyrus hurls a bone at the back of Undyne’s head, her good eye rolls back into her head as she collapses, letting go of you in the process.

“OH GOSH! OH GOSH! I DIDN’T MEAN TO HURT HER THAT BAD.” Papyrus is hovering over her fallen figure anxiously. “WE NEED TO HELP HER.”

Asriel crawls off of Papyrus, “ You are kidding right? If you heal her she’ll just go back to killing us.”

Papyrus looks indignant, “I WILL NOT LEAVE HER HERE WITH HER INJURIES UNTENDED, I WILL BRING HER BACK TO MY HOUSE WITH YOU ALL.”

They take out there phone and briefly speak with someone before picking you up with Asriel hanging off you lethargically. “LET US RETURN HOME!”

“What about Undyne.” You murmur.

“WORRY NOT, FOR I HAVE AQUIRED THE HELP OF MY BROTHER, HE WILL TAKE HER TO OUR HOUSE USING ONE OF HIS ‘SHORTCUTS.’”

You must have fallen asleep on the journey back because you suddenly become aware of the swaying of a boat, You can see Snowdin ahead as you disembark from the Riverperson’s boat.

When you reach the house Undyne is already laid out on the couch and Sans isn’t around.

Papyrus sits you down on a chair as he begins to clean your injuries with gauze and water. _At least this time I’m still conscious after a fight._ You glance at your **HP** ,

**HP: 4/12**

_Surprisingly not as low as when I fought Papyrus, but then again I had help._

Asriel is missing another petal after the fight, rubbing the jagged edge with a leaf sadly.

You look across the room at Undyne, keeping an eye on her motionless figure with a sense of discomfort, _she could wake up any second and attack us._ Even while passed out she doesn’t look peaceful, her face contorted into a frown.

Papyrus checks over her injuries, the blow to the back of her head is minor, “SHE COULD WAKE UP AT ANY TIME, I HOPE SHE FORGIVES ME FOR KNOCKING HER OUT.”  Papyrus seems genuinely distraught by the outcome of the fight, still unresolved and having a major threat hanging over them all.

_I guess all we can do is wait until she wakes up._


	11. Spaghetting Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, i really don't know what happened here, oh well :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry but I won't be able to update for a few days as I'll be staying with my grandparents, A.K.A the land of no Wi-Fi, I should be able to post a chapter on Sunday or Monday before resuming regular updates, anyway please enjoy this chapter.

There was only so long that you could stare at Undyne’s stationary figure, although it made you uneasy to turn your back to her and follow Papyrus into the kitchen you couldn’t keep watching her sleep.

_The question is what to do when she wakes up, she will return to being aggressive and murderous; I need to remember something significant about our time together in the last timeline to use as a focal point to remind her, she isn’t the kind of person to be reasoned with through sentiment alone._

Asriel decided to remain on the table in the living room to watch Undyne; _I think he is maybe upset about the fight earlier, he seemed guilty that he remained attached to Papyrus out of danger, to be honest it was a relief to know that at least he wouldn’t be injured as well._

Papyrus brings out his large saucepan as he once again prepares spaghetti; he works with a determined expression on his face that was typically uncharacteristic of him with his jovial nature.

“Hey…Paps, are you alright there?”

He turns his attention from the frothing pot of steaming water to smile at you, “OH COURSE HUMAN, I REALISED SOMETHING, THE BEST WAY TO GO ABOUT MAKING NEW FRIENDS IS WITH FRIENDSHIP SPAGHETTI, AFTER ALL THAT WAS HOW WE SOLIDIFIED OUR FRIENDSHIP…EVEN IF IT WAS A DATE.”

Your face flushes slightly at his words, “It wasn’t like that.” You mutter under your breath, too low for Papyrus to hear and take the wrong way. You feel a pang of sadness at Papyrus’ naivety, _I don’t think that cooking a meal will pacify Undyne very well; we have to overcome her innate hatred for humanity and everyone else._

You stand in the corner of the room watching him work and occasionally ducking when he becomes too over enthusiastic. At one point Sans wanders into the kitchen raising his arm in greeting as he makes his way to the fridge silently, Papyrus has his back turned to him as he prepares the food. You walk up behind Sans,

“Looking for the ketchup?”

Sans spins around immediately looking anxious, “huh yeah kiddo, you know me too well, i just love it.” He rolls the lights in his eye sockets around.

You shrug off his jumpy behaviour, _after the past few days we’ve had, he’s entitled to be on edge._

Sans points at Papyrus working, oblivious to his presence over the loud clattering he was making and raises a single skeletal digit to where his teeth are, “i’m off to grillby’s, don’t tell paps. we’ll have to ketchup some other time.”

He winks and turns around and walks out of the kitchen to the front door. _That’s odd; usually he would use a shortcut rather than walking there._

You walk back into the living room and sit idly at the table noting that Asriel was attentively watching Undyne still. You slump in the seat tiredly and raise your head as Papyrus carries in steaming platefuls of spaghetti much to your dismay.

“THE MEMORY SPAGHETTI IS READY!” He bellows.

_Memory Spaghetti? He’s investing a lot in Undyne remembering the past just from his spaghetti; maybe the flavour will shock her into remembering,_ you think cynically.

Undyne makes a groaning sound from the couch, she stirs rolling over onto her side, one yellow eye flicks open.

You flash Papyrus a panicked look as you stand up from the table, her eye locked on you, face twisting brutally into a sneer, pushing herself up she holds a rigid stance as she scans the room.

“YOU!” She yells, pointing a finger at a shaking Papyrus, “Why the hell did you bring me back here, I’m not some charity case, keep your pity for someone who cares.”

A red haze takes over her eye, “You can’t consider it an act of kindness, helping me when you’re the one who got in my way in the first place, you…you knocked me out…” She realises, the rage growing and intensifying as she advances across the room.

“Undyne, killing me won’t change anything; your parents will still be dead. It isn’t healthy holding onto that pain.”

“STUPID LITTLE FREAK! All humans deserve to die, it doesn’t matter if you didn’t do anything, I will claim your soul as well as the other six, then I will destroy humanity.” _All you have to do is kill them, your parents will be so proud of you, what’s the life of one child?_

_Shit, shit what do I do?_ Asriel was uneasily edging away and moving closer to you.

You reach for the nearest thing to you, a plate of spaghetti.

Picking it up by the edge you hurl it at Undyne’s face, a look of astonishment crosses their face, the plate smacks her in the jaw and spaghetti is strewn across her face.

You weren’t sure whether Papyrus was more distressed by Undyne’s possible retribution or the loss of his spaghetti, a look of horror stretched across his skull.

A dark voice resonates from Undyne, “What…what did you do, you little punk!”

She swipes a hand across her face gathering up the spaghetti clinging to her skin and mashes it into a pulpy ball, stretching her arm back she hurls it back at you hitting you squarely in the chest, the impact was surprisingly strong for something made of such a soft substance, a trail of orange is left on your blue and pink stripped sweater as it slides down.

For some reason you can feel a bubble of laughter rising in your chest, you struggle with the urge fiercely after taking in Undyne’s disgruntled expression. You can’t help it, you begin to giggle.

Undyne just looks bewildered, “You think this is a game? Your soul is mine brat!”

You scoop up more spaghetti from another plate and launch it at Undyne, this time she is prepared and ducks out of the way, something akin to a challenging smile crosses her face.

“You think you can beat me!”

Without thinking about your reasoning you continue your assault on Undyne, constantly lobbing any spaghetti you can lay your hands on, you see her concentrating on forming another spear in her hand, the beginnings of a red pulse, you throw more food at her to distract her. A look of irritation crosses her face as she wipes the residue off of her shoulder and glares.

Asriel looks torn between fleeing and wanting to help; giving a shrug he scoops up a fallen meatball lathered with glitter and hits Undyne in the face with it.

“What is your problem, I’m trying to kill you and all you can do is have a pathetic little food fight, dumb wimps!”

A circle of red spears form around her as she prepares to impale you, you weave in and out of her barrage of attacks, suddenly she slips on a puddle of spilt sauce on the ground and lands heavily on her back.

Papyrus is fretting and rubbing his hands together with all the stress, “PLEASE STOP FIGHTING, THIS ISN’T HELPING ANYTHING, THAT SPAGHETTI IS FOR EATING NOT THROWING!” he watches you with a look of pain on his face as you hurl another glob at Undyne’s fallen form, “MY SPAGHETTI.” He whimpers.

The beginnings of an idea form in your head, the last time you had tried to befriend Undyne there was a specific way she was goaded into it.

“Hey, Undyne! Get up and fight me, or maybe you’re too weak to win in a food fight!”

“Frisk…no…” Asriel moans looking greatly concerned at your bating.

Undyne leaps to her feet immediately, the fire of ambition in her eye, “As if I could lose to a nerd like you!”

_Hmm, nerd? Her insults are becoming weaker._

Undyne lunges for the table to take hold of more spaghetti, she surplexes the large metal pot that Papyrus had put it in and tips it over your head, you feel the runny sauce seep into your already ruined clothes, chocking slightly on a mouthful of spaghetti you grimace at the taste filling your mouth.

“Fuhuhu!  You cannot best me Human!” Undyne calls.

You remove the pot from your head and dash into the kitchen to take more food from the fridge, coming across more spaghetti and ketchup bottles, _huh there’s a lot of spare ketchup in here that Sans hasn’t consumed yet,_ you return to Undyne.

“HA, I thought you had chickened out, is this the best you can do?!”

Asriel takes one of the ketchup bottles and squeezes it out at Undyne, she looks down at two objects, a fallen spear and a tub of spaghetti, she hesitates indecisively, kneeling to pick one up, to your immense relief she chose the spaghetti, it glows with a reddish hue as she charges it with her energy to launch it at you at a much higher speed than it would normally be thrown at.

It strikes you but inflicts no pain; Papyrus just kneels on the ground staring at the spaghetti coating the walls with a look of trauma repetitively moaning, “NO…NO.”

By the end there is no longer any food left to throw, you can feel anxiety rise, _what will she do now?_ Undyne also comes to the realisation that the food fight cannot continue due to the fact that it is now splattering every surface in the house, she meets you gaze challenging you to make your next move.

You step forward to meet her, determination burning in your soul.

“Hey punk, since you weren’t a complete wimp I’ll let you make the first attack!”

Your soul is drawn out; just like Papyrus concern flashes across her face at the state of your soul before a look of concentration takes its place. This reminds you of the time she burnt her house down and asked you to attack her; you knew what you had to do.

You raise the stick that you always carry around with you, in preparation; Undyne stiffens her stance and shifts her weight forward onto her right foot, daring you to attack. You step forward and gently tap he shoulder with the stick.

She flinches in anticipation of the hit then freezes, the attack dealt **1 damage** , she looks up in confusion.

“Wh-why, why did you do that? I’m about to kill you, don’t you know that being nice only gets you killed?” Undyne trembles unsteadily on her feet, “I can feel your fighting spirit, your compassion, just like him, like Asgore.” She frowns, “Why would I say that? Asgore is completely merciless, what am I thinking?” muttering.

The conflict raging within her was so intense, her eye no longer focusing on you as she scans her mind desperately for an answer.

Her eye snaps back to you, “What are you trying to do to me? You think your wimpy goody-two-shoes shtick is going to cut it, I will have my revenge!”

She grabs you by the neck like she had in Waterfall and starts chocking you; Asriel is frantically trying to trip Undyne with his vines so she’ll release you, Papyrus runs towards you as your vision blurs, you don’t even resist her.

“Fight back, for fuck sake, fight! Don’t you want to live; don’t you have people to live for? FIGHT ME!” Undyne yells at you slackening their grip, you wheeze gasping in as much air as you can.

Through gasping breath you utter, “I refuse to fight my bestie.”

They release you completely and rock back on their heels, “Bestie?” They murmur.

_What am I thinking they have to die, they all need to pay._ Ignoring their raging thoughts Undyne focuses on what has just occurred, the food fight still in her mind, your feeble attack and claim of friendship, _so, so very familiar._ They can see fire in their mind, her house burning as you both laugh over a flaming stove, fighting on top of a rock formation, being given water when passing out of dehydration.

**“We’re not just gonna be friends, we’re** **gonna be BESTIES!”**

**“I guess not all humans are bad.”**

**“So…where ever you are you have to try to be happy, okay!?”**

**“We’re all with you, everyone is.”**

**“You’re a wimpy loser with a big heart!”**

“W-what’s happening to me…?”

Undyne’s form flickers.

“Undyne, it’s okay, we’re here for you!” You say eagerly.

They shake their head, the broken heart appearing back on their chest plate, “I can’t, if I let go of my grudge they will be disappointed in me, I can’t dishonour there memory, have to make them pay.” She whispers.

“Undyne, is this the kind of existence your parents would want you to have, wouldn’t they rather you be happy and live for them? Let it go.”

Undyne starts to cry, great gut-wrenching sobs, “Mum…Dad…I’m sorry, I can’t avenge you…I…”

You move across to Undyne and hug her, “It’s okay, everything will be alright.”

You let her cry, her arms clutching you tightly, Papyrus hesitantly steps forward only to be met with a noogie.

“NO UNDYNE! DON’T NOOGIE THE SKELETON, THE FIRST THING YOU DO WHEN YOU REMEMBER IS THIS…WHY???”

She snorts and looks up at you, now wearing a casual outfit of a tank top covered with a light denim jacket and jeans.

“Holy s-sugar,” quickly correcting herself after seeing the disapproving look on Papyrus’ face, “What happened to me, how did I…?”

“It’s hard to explain, all you need to know is that time reset and you lost your memory and positive emotions, this happened to everyone.”

Undyne’s face twitches, “I can’t believe I did that, I thought I had put behind my anger towards the humans that ruined my family.” They meet your eyes, “It was more important to help everyone than just satisfy my revenge, I didn’t think it was possible to feel that way, so devoid of love and hope, because I didn’t care about anyone I let myself act that way, I’m disgusting.”

You protest desperately, “No Undyne you’re not, you couldn’t help acting like that, your feelings were taken away from you, but it’s okay now.”

She balls her hand into a fist, “When I find the person that did that to me I will make them pay!”

Asriel anxiously shifts behind you, you try to look reassuring before patting Undyne’s back.

“Seriously though punk, you should have fought back I could have killed you!” They also noogie you, you reluctantly comply. “You said something about time resetting, that’s  so cool, like something out of an anime, like there’s this one called Steins; Gate where this guy keeps sending his memories back in time and…”

You cut her off by holding your hand up, “It’s really not, this is serious we need to **SAVE** everyone before they all do things that they’ll regret.”

“I’m gonna call Alphys and ask her about all this nerdy bullshit.” You grab her phone out of her hand, “What are you doing?”

“You can’t, we haven’t **SAVED** her yet.”

Undyne looks upset, “You mean she’ll be really angry like me?”

“I don’t know yet, whatever her most intense negative emotion is.”

“Well I’m going to **SAVE** her, I won’t let her forget me that easily!”

You smile at her enthusiasm, “Yeah, let’s go **SAVE** Alphys!”

You both stand up only to be met with an angry Papyrus, “DON’T YOU DARE! HAVE YOU SEEN THE STATE OF THIS HOUSE, IT’S WORSE THAN SANS’ ROOM, YOU WILL CLEAN UP BEFORE YOU LEAVE!”

Undyne looks sheepish, “Uh this is kinda important Papyrus…” They stop looking at their distraught expression as they gaze at the spaghetti spangled ceiling. “FINE! I will be the best cleaner you have ever seen!”

They seem to notice Asriel for the first time, “Who are you punk? Never seen you ‘round before.”

Asriel smiles nervously, “Howdy, I’m Flowey, Flowey the Flower!” they put on the most innocent expression they can muster, Undyne shrugs and resumes cleaning unaware of Asriel’s silent guilt and fear at her previous declaration.

“WHEN I SAID I HAD COOKED MEMORY SPAGHETTI, THIS WASN’T QUITE HOW I IMAGINED IT WOULD HELP!”

You check your stats once again:

**HP: 4/13**

_Slowly, we’re getting there, soon everyone will be safe and I’ll never doubt my friends again._


	12. Things Are Getting Heated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welp, off to Hotlands with your bestie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have returned to the land of Wi-Fi, sorry for the lack of updates.

After the grievously long task of returning Sans’ and Papyrus’ house to a relatively satisfactory state you begin to make plans to go to Hotlands.  Your knees ached after kneeling on the floor, scrubbing spaghetti for so long, _well at least it was worth it, now we only have to **SAVE** Alphys and Asgore, then hopefully the Underground will be restored._

Asriel nudges his head against your neck to get your attention, “Frisk, what Undyne said earlier…do you think I should tell them what I did?”

You turn to him; fear for his safety rising within you, “You can’t, at least not yet. We can’t deal with round three of Undyne’s wrath. Anyway it wasn’t your fault if we aren’t blaming Undyne for what she did when she lacked love then she can’t blame you either,” You state firmly.

Asriel sighs softly, “I guess you’re right, I can’t help feeling guilty though, they deserve to know the truth.”

You rub your eyes and yawn loudly, Asriel blinks at you in surprise, “I guess anyone would be tired after a day like this.”

“No, it’s not that, I’ve just had some odd dreams lately that’s all, it’s pretty exhausting, almost like I’m not even spending the time sleeping.”

Your conversation is interrupted by Undyne’s bellowing, “PAPYRUS! I refuse to clean the whole house, only the living room and kitchen were trashed! You can’t make me go in there, not with all the weird yellow gunk! “

You cast an amused look to the top of the stairs where Papyrus is attempting _(failing)_ to coax Undyne into Sans’ bedroom, he seems to be offering her spaghetti as compensation or at least vigorously waving it at her.

“Don’t you think Sans would be upset if Undyne invaded his privacy.” You offer to Undyne’s relief.

“Exactly! Who would want to rummage around in a dump like that, well not all dumps are bad, the garbage dump’s pretty great where I met Alphys…”

“Speaking of Alphys we really need to go and see her.”

“VERY WELL I WILL LET YOU OFF THIS ONCE, AFTER ALL YOUR SHENANIGANS HAVE RESTORED YOU TO YOUR FORMER GLORY NYEH HEH HEH!”

Undyne jumps down from the top of the landing creating a small fissure in the ground from the impact, you hear a small whimper from Papyrus as he gazes at the ground in dismay, without being given time to react you are tossed onto Undyne’s back, your hands desperately reach for anything to hold onto before gripping onto the collar of her jacket, Asriel flashes you a look of panic as he is jostled around on your shoulder.

Undyne runs out of the door with the two of you on her back, shouting “See ya PUNK!” behind her to Papyrus. You remember the time that Undyne ran to Snowdin after her house caught on fire, taking only a few minutes, if the speed she was planning on running at now was any comparison to then you were in for a rough ride.

It would seem Undyne was never taught the concept of Blue Stop Signs.

 Or how to stop at all.

 After reaching the edge of Snowdin you see Monster Kid approach excitedly, “Woah, dude how did you get Undyne to pick you up that’s awesome!”

You wave at him as quickly as you can before tightening your grip on Undyne, the action of waving almost making you lose your balance, “You okay up there nerd?”

“F-fine.”

“Don’t wimp out on me now, we have to **SAVE** Alphys, you know I remember the time she read my letter…things seemed to go well enough but we didn’t get round to talking about the things that are important. I just…never mind it will all work out.”

_Undyne puts my determination to shame, she has so much loyalty and devotion for her loved ones, I could never be like her, they say that monsters can’t be determined but she is the most determined person I’ve ever met._

You begin to shiver from the rain, Waterfall once more aglow with an azure haze, crystal clear waters and a tranquillity that couldn’t be replicated elsewhere.  Noticing your tremors Undyne strides towards the Riverperson, tossing you into the back of the boat they smile toothily at the Riverperson.

“Care for a ride?”

“Take us to Hotlands!”

The Riverperson didn’t even turn around, yet they acknowledged your presence, Asriel seemed too preoccupied by the rocking of the boat to meet your eyes, “I’m not sure if it’s because of the chlorophyll or not but you seem a bit green.”

They groan slightly and shut their eyes, “I don’t do well on boats.”

“Tra-la-la, beware of false smiles…”

Your head whips around, “What do you mean by that?”

They still refuse to turn around from their perpetually hunched position at the front of the boat, “Tra-la-la a smile is the most deceiving mask.”

“As if that’s supposed to make more sense.” You grumble.

Any further attempts to engage them in conversation resulted in a repetition of their previous statements, much to your agitation.

You leave the boat feeling disgruntled by their far from forthcoming message, false smiles, _that could refer to anyone…even me, a few people down here pretended to be friendly before attempting to kill me, maybe they’re warning me against something of that nature._

You turn around in the opposite direction to the lab to check if Sans was at his Hotlands station, just as expected he was slumped over the counter asleep, he seemed to be frowning in his sleep and shifting around uncomfortably.

You feel a tugging on your shoulder, the opposite one to where Asriel sat, “Come on we have to get going.”

You take a deep breath, the shadows of the laboratory fills you with determination. Feeling relief over the **SAVE** point you continue to progress towards the lab.

“Hurry up punk; we have to talk to Alphys.”

Suddenly two figured donning scarlet armour stand in your path with their spears raised high in sync. _Is that the Royal Guards?_

Undyne scowls at them, “What do you think you’re doing retards, I’m your captain let me past!”

You’re unable to interpret any emotion from them with their faces masked by their helmets, a raspy voice is emitted from one of them, “You are not our captain, our captain would never show compassion or camaraderie towards something like that.” They gesture at your alarmed face.

Undyne’s glare intensifies as she summons an array of spears at her side, sending them to hover over them, “Look here, no one will get in my way and if you DARE touch my BESTIE then I will obliterate you!”

One of the guards raise their inky black spear and swipes at Undyne’s sapphire spears, they seem to seep shadows as they cut through the air; shimmering with the heat of the magma. The light of the spears dim as they blink out of existence.

“What the hell!”

The other guard mimics their attacks precisely as they continue warding off Undyne’s spears, “We will not be tricked by some imposter, you won’t make a fool of us.” One of them hissed out.

“As if anyone could impersonate me!” Undyne scoffs, “Bloody traitors…”

“Undyne we don’t have time to fight them, the only way to restore them is to **SAVE** Alphys!”

Undyne loses their concentration as they turn around to look at you; this earns her a slash across her upper back, “Fucking cowards, I taught you better than to hit people when their backs are turned, you’re supposed to hit your opponent head on!”

Asriel crawls off your shoulder and heads for the entrance to the lab, there is a panel with a buzzer installed, elongating a vine he presses it, “Dr Alphys, please open the door, we need your help.”

There is a whirring sound of machinery from behind you as the lab door slides open slowly; it catches slightly as if it hadn’t been used often. You dash towards the door after Asriel with Undyne in tow.

“Don’t think I’ll forget this bastards!” She hollers at them before grasping the door and dragging it shut, a cracking sound indicates that she broke something in the process, Undyne merely shrugs at the sound before walking further into the room.

 _I thought that the lab was messy before but this is ridiculous_ , the walls were a faded grey, papers littered the entirety of the room, the lack of action figures and manga was unsettling. It seemed as if all the happiness was leeched out of the room, it looked like how an ordinary lab should, completely atypical of Alphys’ personality. There were no longer escalators in place to take you up to her room above the lab, _it seems so cut off._

“Alphys?” You call out hesitantly; _she has to be here if she opened the door for us._

You notice Undyne wandering off to seek out Alphys, lingering around the entrance to the True Lab, she kicks at the door viciously, _Alphys isn’t going to like that, it was hard enough last time getting her to open up about the experiments._

You call out to Undyne but you shouts fall to deaf ears as she ignores you in favour of exploring the lab below, you look around the lab before noticing the uneasy look on Asriel’s face.

“Down there…that’s where she brought me back.” He whispered, “I don’t like it down there.”

You approach the exit of the lab and try to turn the handle but it is locked, “Alphys?” You try again.

You see their silhouette on the wall beside you, magnified and inciting fear within you. You turn around slowly looking upon the new Alphys, a tattered white lab coat closer to an off cream colour, trails on the ground at her feet, it was open revealing a red and black dress underneath with many holes and ink stains in. You look to her face, her eyes obscured by glasses that are slightly tinted and cloudy.

“H-human, I have been watching you, you really are fascinating to observe.”

You are filled with uncertainty, _well fascination is better than innate disgust I suppose._

You scratch the back of your neck nervously, “Thanks for saving us from the Royal Guards, we really appreciate it.”

Their gaze seems to settle on Asriel, “Oh, y-you came back, I didn’t give you permission to leave little e-experiment.”

You can feel Asriel flinch as they attempt to hide behind you by burying themselves in your hair.

“Isn’t this great, I get you back as well as them.” They gesture towards you, much to your discomfort. “Not to mention Undyne.” They let out a small giggle.

You hear a banging on the lab door from the True Lab, “Hey, what’s going on, let me out!”

“Alphys let her out, isn’t Undyne your friend?”

They raise a hand to their mouth to muffle another laugh, “S-silly human, she’s my future wife, she doesn’t know it yet but when I perfect my equation for what ‘love’ is she will be mine to take.”

You frown in confusion, “What equation? Love is an emotion; you can’t replicate it with some formula.”

They shake their head and smile, “Do y-you really think anyone down here is capable of that type of love? No. It’s okay though, soon she’ll be under my control, she won’t hate me for all the things I’ve done, I won’t allow her to.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I wouldn’t e-expect a human to, no one will ever love me but it’s alright I will solve the problem, I will isolate this ‘love’ I have read about and i-inject them with it.”

You start to back away from her as she continues muttering half sentences under her breath, “I’m pretty sure that’s not how it works.”

“Frisk let’s just get out of here.” Asriel begs.

Their attention snaps back to you as they stop looking towards the door concealing Undyne, “I-I’m really grateful human, if it wasn’t for you I don’t think Undyne would have entered my lab, you even b-brought me the most important thing.”

_Alphys is really beginning to creep me out, what does she want? Acceptance, love? She only seems to be displaying possessive tendencies like Toriel, maybe she’s like them._

“Well…uh…if I can help you with something then…” _Maybe I should just go along with it for now._

They reach out a clawed hand to grasp your own, “I’m s-so excited, I’ve been waiting for so long for a chance like this to arrive, finally I can fix everything.”

“If you need help with something then I’m happy to help you Alphys.”

“Please address me as Dr Alphys, from now on you will be treated as my personal test subject.” They begin to mutter something along the lines of: “Determination…experiments…extractions…solidification…”

“What! I didn’t agree to that, please let Undyne go Alphys don’t you care about her?”

“QUIET!” They shout for seemingly the first time in their life, “H-how dare you accuse me of not c-caring for my U-Undyne, she is everything, this is why I have to do this, s-she will love me!”

She takes out a mobile phone from her pocket and begins to murmur something quietly into the receiver, the lab door at the entrance swings open as two familiar red clad guards stride through.

Alphys yanks Asriel off your shoulder, “One of my first successes, I wonder if your determination is an renewable source to draw from.”

Asriel stares at her on horror as he tries to reattach himself to you with his vines, resisting the tight grip she had around his stem. Alphys gestures for the guards to come closer.

“Y-you could have made this easy for me, it w-wouldn’t have hurt…much, I have no need for my test subjects to be conscious, this is your own fault.”

In your attempt to retrieve Asriel you are grabbed by the Guards and hauled towards one of the medical tables, you twist and scream in their grasp, even trying to bite at their arms to no avail.

A sudden impact to your head makes everything fade into black.


	13. Experimental Designs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You pretty much spend the chapter lying down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of people make the Underfell cast tsundere, i think the way i've wrote most of the characters they are dangerously bordering yandere, XD

**“Howdy partner, back again I see.”**

**You are submerged in darkness yet again, much like the void you were all too familiar with, this didn’t stop you from recognising the familiar voice.**

**“You never did tell me your name.”**

**You feel something brush against you in the darkness.**

**“That’s irrelevant, have you given any thought to my offer?”**

**“The one where I ‘let you in’ or whatever that means in return for your help in restoring my friends?”**

**“That’s the one!” They agree cheerfully.**

**“Well…it’s a kind offer but I seem to be doing okay so far, I mean I’m like halfway there.”**

**If you could see them you were sure they would be rolling their eyes.**

**“It certainly seems you have everything under control, I’m certain that being strapped to a medical bed by one of your best friends was entirely planned.”**

**“You know, I’m not even sure if you’re real, you could just be a figment of my imagination, an imaginary friend.”**

**You hear a soft laugh, “Friend huh, I bet you know all about that, so trusting of everyone you meet, it’s quite amusing watching you interact so obliviously with them.”**

**“You’re not exactly proving you’re real here, I don’t need to make any deals with you, I’m determined to SAVE all of my friends.”**

**“Yes…Determination…quite a power you have, well if you insist on rejecting my help I guess I’ll have to offer it elsewhere.”**

**“I don’t need help; I’m perfectly in control of the situation.”**

**There was a moment of silence before you hear their reply, their voice deeper and more strained, echoing in the surrounding shadows, “Since when were you the one in control!”**

Your eyes shoot open before you scrunch them up tightly, above your head a light with an intense beam shines; you gradually relax and adjust to the brightness. Attempting to sit up you find a wide strip of leather pining you to the bed across your chest and waist, similar straps individually pin your arms and legs, you can only raise your head an infinitesimal distance.

Giving up you lay your head back down, there was no point straining yourself when it would achieve nothing, you take to scanning the room, it was one you were unfamiliar with, _it can’t be a part of the True Lab as Undyne is most likely still trapped down there._ There was a table across from you with various bottles containing a rainbow of liquids; you shivered at the sight of a syringe. This room was more dimly lit than the rest of Alphys’ lab that you had seen, there was a broken bulb in one corner of the room, the other one flickered on and off constantly casting strange shadows across the wall.

You notice movement in the corner of your eye, you attempt to turn your head, not quite able to turn it as well as you would like, whatever it was it had moved back out of sight.

“Hello?” You call out quietly, unsure if it was maybe Alphys.

You catch brief movement again, the slight shifting of a shadow, the sound of footsteps cautiously approaching.

“H-hello darling…”

Your eyes fix upon a truly surprising sight, it was Mettaton but not.

Similar to their EX form they had a humanoid figure, standing at maybe six feet tall, their mechanical body had a red chest plate, their long black legs clad with lurid red boots. Most al _arm_ ingly was their arms, two sets of them, two wearing thick yellow gloves, the other two in red. They swayed by their side slightly raised, they had a similar emblem to Undyne with their broken heart symbol imprinted as a belt. One eye burned with a similar shade of red while the other was covered by a lock of ebony hair.

_Well, looks like I’m in trouble, I can’t even defend myself this time either. It was hard enough fighting the other Mettaton without having a lack of mobility._

The yellow set of hands seemed to be toying with their belt uncomfortably before one of the red hands slapped them away; they smiled at you with a sad expression.

“Oh honey, don’t worry you’re not the only one who’s been in that position before, it will all be worth it, I’m sure you’ll get a fabulous new look after Alphys is through with you.”

“It’s not my appearance I’m concerned with.” You say wryly. “I’m more worried about my life.”

Mettaton looks shocked, “I don’t think she’ll kill you, after all you’re very important to her, you’ve already done so much good.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

They gesture towards you with one of their red hands, “Look at those ugly holes marring that soft luscious skin of yours, she’s managed to extract quite a bit of determination, much better than that nasty fake kind she developed.”

You freeze and try to tilt your head to get a better look at your arm, he was right, a multitude of pinpricks speckled your arm, violent pansy blossom bruises blooming across them.

“What does she want me for?” You whisper.

Mettaton looks excited, “Oh darling you’re her redemption, with your determination Alphys believes she can stabilise the Amalgamates, they are fallen monsters revived with determination, their forms can’t hold onto determination but you are quite unique as a live sample to extract from. Using fragments lingering in the souls of the dead children was a flawed process especially considering their dominant trait weren’t determination to begin with.”

You start to feel queasy at the concept of having part of your soul’s energy drawn out from your veins in order to further experiment on the poor abandoned Amalgamates.

“Where do you come into all of this?”

“Oh it’s quite simple really; those Royal Guards were so brutal and inefficient, I am to guard you as Alphys’ primary subject, after all I have to pay her back for this body she gave me.”

“What kind of deal did you make?”

“She built this form for me, it is specialised in combat and accuracy, if you resist I am authorised to use any amount of force I deem necessary.”

You try appealing to Mettaton’s better nature, “Why is it important to have this form, couldn’t you operate well enough without it?”

Their body starts to twitch and their yellow arms seem to stretch out towards you shaking slightly. “Don’t be absurd darling, as if I would want others to look upon my pitiably ugly form, if I am not photogenic then my viewers will not love me.”

_Perhaps what Mettaton craves in acceptance, it looks like their vanity has become more prominent._

“I’m sure you’d look pretty no matter what form you are in!” _Way to go Frisk, I’ve returned to flirting with the residents of the Underground._

You see Mettaton’s lip tremble, their scarlet eye glows more ferociously, “Don’t mock me, I know how hideous I am, your empty flattery will get you nowhere!”

As their anger increases they appear to spasm and twitch more frequently, heir yellow clad arms seem to move more rapidly compared to their red ones, almost as if they were fighting one another. Their head twitches and their hair flips, revealing a topaz yellow eye, their expression twists into a snarl, their red arms now limp and past resistance.

“Leave us the fuck alone!” their voice dropped in pitch.

_Us…what?_

“Garbage like you should learn to shut your mouth!”

_Why does that voice seem strangely familiar, why do they have two voices?_

Mettaton shivers violently, their red arms rising up and forcefully grabbling the yellow ones, “Blooky, don’t harm them, Alphys will be angry with us, she might reinstall the frequent electric shocks in our system again.”

_Blooky…holy shit…_

“Napstablook?”

Both of their eyes were now exposed, they were trying to look in different directions to each other giving them the appearance of being cross-eyed, the yellow eye focuses on you whilst the red one is downcast.

“Where did you hear that name human?” They spit.

You don’t reply, realising that the overly complicated explanation in this situation would be far from well received.

“Answer me!”

Mettaton seems to retake control as their body starts to shift towards the door.

“Stop being a coward Mettaton, I’m disgusted to be the cousin of such a pathetic weakling like you, your constant whinging to the human woke me up, why can’t you just let me sleep!?”

Their red hands draw together and wring nervously, Mettaton’s voice is distinctly higher, “Blooky you still love me don’t you, you know I’ll do anything, kill anyone as long as you don’t stop acknowledging me.”

They issue a snort, watching the array of expressions of two people in one form flicker across a single face was mesmerizing, they quite literally held an internal war for the dominance of the body.

_Well I’m not going to get out of this position soon, it would be best to diffuse the situation, even if I am valuable to Alphys they don’t seem beyond harming me. It would seem that Mettaton is desperate for attention and recognition and Napstablook just seems pissed in general._

“I…uh heard someone mention it once.”

They also scoff at you, “I don’t care for your lies, perhaps it would be best if you stayed silent, test subject.”

You internally bristle at their way of referring to you, _whatever happened to their timid nature?_

You see the yellow glow dim slightly as their dark hair fans back over their left eye, Mettaton’s red eye fixes back upon you.

“You made my cousin upset; they’re the only one that cares about me. With their help I will rise and become the star that everyone will admire and envy.” Their red arms stretch up as they mimic something akin to jazz hands. “I won’t allow anyone to stand in my way; do you think anyone could possibly love you like they do me? I will become an unattainable figure of beauty and the antics of some lowly human will not deter me.”

You begin to ignore them, _I wonder what happened to Asriel_ , a pang of fear races through you, _what if Alphys hurt them…_

You’re snapped out of your thoughts by a sharp slap to your face.

“Honey, you better pay attention to me when I talk to you. One word from me and Alphys come running in, I don’t think you would enjoy her experiments while you’re still conscious.”

Their eye emits light violently as they grasp you under your chin, turning your resistant face towards them.

“I’ll wake Blooky up!” They threaten.

You continue ignoring them, _it’s probably an empty threat, they seem fearful of disturbing them themself._

Mettaton hesitates, noticing the lack of response, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you darling.”

They storm out of the room leaving you alone with only your thoughts and a distinctly incessant ache in your back from maintaining the same position for so long.

It didn’t take long for you to recognise a different set of footsteps approaching, a lot lighter than Mettaton’s. You tense up as Alphys moves closer to stand over the bed.

They grin gleefully at you, “E-everything’s going according to plan, your determination is remarkable. Already I have been able to separate E-endogeny without them falling down again.”

You felt somewhat conflicted; _I wasn’t able to help the Amalgamates last time, could this actually be a good thing in a way?_

“Dr Alphys,” You start, remembering that they preferred this term of address, “After you have extracted the determination you need to help them will you let me go?”

They begin to giggle, their face flushed, _they’re ours now, to do as we please, everything will be ours. I will never have reason to feel guilt or grief again._

“You’re s-so funny; I would let you go on a stand-up c-comedy show with Mettaton and Napstablook but I’m afraid you will never leave here.”

“What more could you possibly need me for!” You shout in desperation, straining against the restraints.

“Lay still or I will p-permanently paralyse, then you will lay s-still for the rest of your life.”

You hiss in frustration and cease your movement whilst glaring at her, they take out a circular device made of metal, an orange cone of light is emitted from it as she holds it over your chest. You feel a slight prickling sensation from the scanning.

“Why must Mettaton and Napstablook share a body?”

They look up in surprise, “Y-You noticed that there were two of them?” They smile sadistically, “Mettaton is the more powerful soul but lacks the spine to fight, Napstablook keeps them in line so they don’t break their promise to serve me.”

Alphys stands back to take note of a number on the screen.

“So, what are you doing about your ‘future wife’?” You say sarcastically

Alphys beams at you, “I-I’m so glad you asked, with these results I’ve been able to m-manipulate a sample of your determination to make other qualities present.” Seeing your confusion she sighs agitatedly, “I-In other words I have a p-prototype for a liquid solution of ‘love’”

“What good will that do?”

They roll their eyes, “This is e-everything, if this works then Undyne will love me, nothing I-I do will ever disgust her, she will want to be with me no matter what.”

They begin to loosen the restraints on you, “I-I need to turn you over to take another reading.”

As soon as the restraints are slack enough, you push Alphys as hard as you can, she is sent tumbling to the ground, you force your stiff legs to move as you open the thankfully unlocked door.

“Undyne! Asriel! Where are you guys!” You shout frantically, you wedge a chair under the latch of the door to the room you just left, _I don’t think Alphys will be strong enough to get out without her backup, as long as Mettaton doesn’t come back._

You hear a muffled sound from the True Lab, you notice a key card lying on Alphys’ desk, hoping it’s the right one you swipe it under the scanner, even though the door sealed itself after Undyne originally entered the key seemed to bypass the system . It seemed that Undyne had heard you and approached the door as she immediately launches herself out of the room.

“Punk! What the hell’s going on, I’ve been trapped down there forever, where’s Alphys?”

It would seem that you had underestimated Alphys’ strength as the chair slides out from its position and the other door swings open. Before you stands a pissed looking Alphys clutching a syringe full of a rose tinted liquid.


	14. The Solution For Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Undyne's turn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, I made Undyne way to mushy and OOC in this, oh well...

“A-Alphys…?” Undyne falters at the sight of the small lizard’s fury, Alphys scuttles forward keeping their syringe poised in the air, although you can’t see their eyes through their fogged up glasses you’re pretty certain she was glowering at you.

She twitches her head towards Undyne, her steps slow and linger uncertainly, “S-sweetie…what are you doing out of the l-lab?”

Undyne raises her eyebrows in confusion, blushing slightly at the term of endearment, “Sweetie? Alphys…listen we really need to talk about something important, there’s something I have to tell you.”

Alphys shakes her head rapidly, holding up a single clawed finger, “N-no, not y-yet,” They turn to you briefly, “If the l-lab rat hadn’t have intervened I could have sorted this out much s-sooner.”

Undyne crosses her arms defensively, “LAB RAT! Jeez, what have you been doing to Frisk?!”

By this point you were inching closer to Undyne for safety’s sake, _Alphys seems like she would be unwilling to harm Undyne, so by keeping at a close proximity the chances of being harmed seems lower._ Undyne wraps an arm around you _(somewhat roughly);_ a friendly gesture which didn’t go unnoticed by Alphys, she stiffened at the sight.

“Y-you, a p-pitiful test subject w-would dare toy with me!” They point accusingly at you.

You shift out of Undyne’s protective embrace, “It’s really not like that, we’re just friends, honestly I’m a kid you really think Undyne would be interested in someone like me.” Undyne just looks baffled at the very notion.

“That…that’s just weird…I don’t even want to think about that…” Undyne adds looking disturbed.

Alphys looks somewhat mollified, still this reassurance didn’t prevent the way she curled her lip at you. Undyne eyes the syringe warily, her hand flexes as if she was resisting the urge to summon a spear in Alphys’ presence.

“You need to remind her of her past and her true feelings, not this obsession.” You murmur under your breath, low enough for only Undyne to hear, they nod slightly in confirmation of hearing you.

“Alphys, I’m just going to say it. I love you. I’ve always loved you, since the day we first met at the Garbage Dump. You’re so full of passion for your work; your desire to help Monsterkind is almost unrivalled. I don’t care what you think about yourself, I see the true you.”

Alphys stumbles back shaking their head again, “S-stop, s-stop lying to m-me…”

Undyne moves closer to her with her arms out, “Fuhuhuh, I’m no liar Alphys; you should know that about me. Have you really not noticed the way I look at you babe, you drive me crazy. I was being such a wimp before, I thought that feelings were a sign of weakness but I was wrong. I want you to know I will always love you!”

Alphys’ arm swings out, knocking several vials of liquid to the ground of the table, silence descends onto the room, her fist clenched.

“Lies!” She hisses vehemently, “The c-cruel and infamous Captain of the Royal Guard would never l-love me of their own volition; this is a j-joke at my expense.”

Undyne puts a hand on Alphys’ shoulder and locks her brilliant yellow eye with Alphys’ shrouded ones shaking her gently.

“That isn’t the real me, that was just some messed up corruption, when I find the fucker that did this to us all I’m gonna kick their ass!” They soften the tone of their voice, “Why wouldn’t I love you, you think I care about the things you’ve done?! We all screw up from time to time; I know about the Amalgamates, I know about your little weaboo obsession with anime and that shit, I. Don’t. Care.”

Alphys jerks out of Undyne’s grasp and approaches you; you had been watching their exchange silently feeling it wasn’t your place to comment. She looks enraged much to your bemusement _; I would have thought that all of those things would be reassuring enough for her, what are we missing? Is her denial really that great?_

“T-this is your fault, y-you planned this with her to mock me, you w-want revenge don’t you?” Their face draws closer. “You’re never leaving here.”

She takes her phone out of her lab coat, _uh oh; she’s calling for back up again._ She presses a series of buttons; a clanging is heard to your left, behind the wall, Mettaton comes bursting through to your slight amusement.

“You called darling!” They wink at Alphys and move to restrain you, grinning in a slightly sadistic manner, you step back but wispy tendrils of shadows latch onto you, they rise from the yellow hands, catching onto your upper arms and legs. As you are pinned in place Mettaton moves behind you locking a red arm under your chin whilst pulling your back towards them. They expose their yellow eye and smirk at your distressed struggling.

Alphys suddenly smiles at Undyne, Undyne returns the smile hesitantly.

“I know you don’t love me yet but you will.”

They dive towards Undyne thrusting the needle into her viciously, they yelp in surprise and recoil. It was too late, the pick solution had been emptied from the syringe, Alphys stands back triumphantly.

“100mls…100mls of m-modified determination, carrying the characteristic ‘love’, you took it a-all, soon you will be how you were always supposed to be.”

Undyne stares in shock having collided with a table in her hurry to avoid the syringe; the needle was slender, not leaving a mark in the jacket that it pierced, she looks down at her arm in disbelief.

_No…what did she do to Undyne, it was hard enough **SAVING** her before, I have no idea what that stuff will even do to her, Alphys called it a prototype, what if it doesn’t even work and causes an allergic reaction? Oh God…what do I do now, I can’t even move without those shadow tendrils tightening and Mettaton grasping my neck harder._

Undyne looks up with a blank expression, her head tilts to the side and she rises to her feet stiffly.

_Yes! Yes! It’s working, she will finally love me for real, she’ll never leave me, ever._

Undyne approaches Alphys slowly and wraps both of her arms around her, hugging her close. Alphys looks like she is tearing up with happiness; you can only look on in horror.

“Alphy, it’s okay, you don’t need to worry, I will always love you.”

Alphys sniffs and wipes her eyes, “I f-finally got something right, it worked. Y-you love me.” They whisper in awe.

Undyne draws back smiling sadly, she removes her black denim jacket to reveal armoured padding under her clothing, a dark stain of liquid blemishes them but it doesn’t seem punctured.

_Huh…even when wearing casual clothing Undyne maintains a form of armour, shouldn’t be surprising really…_

Alphys drops the empty syringe in shock, it shatters on the clinical white tiles of the flooring, her hands tremble as she shifts around anxiously.

“O-oh G-god, I bet you’re s-so mad at m-me, U-Undyne, I’m sorry. I knew you could never love me without the aid of s-science. P-please don’t h-hurt me.” She covers her face with the drooping arms of her lab coat, sobbing into them.

You struggle against Mettaton in an attempt to reach Alphys, instead you try calling out to her.

“Love isn’t something you can replicate in a lab, it’s an innate feeling. All along you’ve been perusing love and it’s right in front of you, why can’t you s-” You’re cut off by one of the yellow hands roughly slamming into your mouth and preventing you from protesting any further.

Undyne picks her up and holds her to her chest, Alphys whimpers in fear, long since abandoning her previously failed method. Undyne rocks her in her arms in a surprisingly gentle fashion. You raise an eyebrow at her from your vantage point. She responds with a glare clearly stating ‘mention this to anyone and you’re dead’.

You hear a soft humming coming from Undyne, _wait…is that what I think it it…oh my God…_ You clearly recognise the opening theme tune of Mew Mew Kissy Cutie Season One, much to your despair at being able to recognise it in the first place.

Alphys’ trembling subsides as she no longer resists the embrace, leaning her full weight into Undyne.

**“Watching someone on a screen really makes them root for them, s-so, ahhh, now I really want to help you!”**

**“Wow…we…we…did it!”**

**“Great job out their team!”**

**“Hey…I know I seemed a bit weird at first but…I really think…um…I’m getting more…uh…confident with guiding you.”**

**“I’ll protect you from him.”**

**“Uh…hey, would you want to watch a human TV show together??? Sometime??? It’s called uh…M-Mew Mew Kissy Cutie.”**

**“HOLD ME!!! UNDYNE!!! HOLD ME!!!”**

**“You’re outfit’s really cute, what’s the occasion?”**

**“To me all that stuff is NERDY crap, what I like about you is that you’re PASSIONATE!”**

**“So you don’t have to lie to me, I don’t want to have to lie to anyone anymore”**

**“I want to help you become happy with who you are.”**

Alphys finally looks up, her eyes visible, the skin surrounding them was had a reddish hue from crying yet her eyes were bright. She releases Undyne and Undyne lowers her gently back down to the ground, she plants a kiss on her forehead quickly, Alphys flushes pink.

“I-I’m so s-sorry Undyne…Frisk…I” They look up finding you still pinned by a bewildered Mettaton whose grasp was still unrelenting.

_Seems that **SAVING** Alphys didn’t affect Mettaton and Napstablook._

“Mettaton let them go, they’re our friend.”

Mettaton lets go reluctantly, “I don’t understand Dr Alphys, you’re giving up just from the words of a brat and this fish.” Their face twists slightly, in a deeper voce they utter, “What a load of crap, we swore to serve you for giving us this physical form and you reveal how weak you are.”

Alphys looks indignant, “T-this fish is my…is my…my…” They trail off.

“Girlfriend?” Undyne supplies cheerfully.

Alphys seems to squeal and resist the urge to jump up and down, “Yeah…my G-Girlfriend, I don’t know why I couldn’t understand the concept of l-love but now I realise I was wrong. Let me help you both…p-please…”

Mettaton looks disgusted, “Darling I have all the love I need, my viewers and cousin are all I need, their admiration and jealousy is enough.” They flip their hair and create a new ‘door’ out of another section of wall.

You gulp and breathe heavily, no longer restrained by solid metal hands and semi-substantial shadows. Rubbing your neck ruefully you approach Alphys and hug her quickly.

“Before you say anything Alphys you need to know this isn’t your fault, you weren’t the only one this happened to. Up to this point everyone we came across needed **SAVING** , your reactions were completely understandable.” Alphys stutters as you raise a hand signalling that you hadn’t finished. “We all love you and together we can **SAVE** everyone from this corruption, there are still people left to **SAVE** like Mettaton, will you help us?”

Alphys locks eyes, something akin to determination glowing in her eyes, “Yes. I will redeem myself for my mistakes.” They glance towards the door of the True Lab, “L-looks like I have to go through with returning the Amalgamates to their families again…” Realisation crosses her face, “Wait, I extracted your determination, I was able to solidify them with your particular type…I-I fixed them…” They look at you apologetically.

You shrug, “Even if you did take my determination without my consent, it helped right?”

They look up guiltily, “I-I’m such a bad friend.”

Undyne pushes the door to the True Lab open again, “C’mon nerd, we’re in this together now.”

You watch them descend the steps into the True Lab leaving you alone in the room.

_Looks like they didn’t need me to **SAVE** them after all, it really is okay to ask for help. Without Undyne I don’t know if **SAVING** Alphys would have been possible. Still I might not have to **SAVE** everyone, Sans seemed to find sanity (or sansity) from the multiple reminders around him and Alphys had Undyne’s help. I don’t have to do this alone._

You pause for a second, something didn’t feel right, your shoulder seemed too light.

“Asriel…” You realise, saying their name aloud.

You begin to explore the lab for him; _Alphys took him away from me before strapping me down, he has to be around here somewhere, what if…what if Alphys did something to him..?_

To the right of the room you find a cupboard, presumably one used for cleaning supplies, it swings open easily as you turn the handle, revealing Asriel. He was inserted in a metal plant pot with an array of buttons and flashing lights adorning it, a metal band was wrapped around his stem; the equipment seemed to be taking readings.

Without thinking you yank the metal bands off of him and pull him out of the pot, he groans groggily, eyes flickering open.

“Frisk..? What happened?”

“It’s okay.” You comfort, “We **SAVED** Alphys, she’s down in the True Lab with Undyne.”

“I’m so useless, this whole mess was because of me and I haven’t been able to **SAVE** a single person, it was always you.”

“Of course you’re not useless, if it wasn’t for you I would have died much more often, you have no idea how many times you have **SAVED** me Asriel, you opened my eyes to my insecurities and gave me a chance to re-establish bonds with my friends, truly learning who they are, countless times you have protected me in the past.  Besides, Undyne was the one responsible for helping Alphys, not me. We’re a team; I know you’ll always have my back.”

Asriel’s gratitude for your reassurance was quite endearing as you scoop them up into their favourite spot on your shoulder. Having their presence set you at peace.

“Thank you.” They whisper softly. “Looks like I need catching up on what happened while I was taking an enforced nap huh?”


	15. Familiar Places, Unfamiliar Words

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You get to hang out with Sans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter: 50% improvisation 50% stuff I daydreamed in class XD

After telling Asriel about **SAVING** Alphys you collapsed on a couch in the corner of the lab, seeing the small figurines of anime characters strewn across the lab you are put at ease. You smile at a poster for one of Alphys’ favourite anime before shutting your eyes briefly with the intention to just rest your eyes for a minute; it had been a tiring day.

**A hallway glows a brilliant gold, light streams in through dozens of windows, gentle amber stained glass with the emblem of the delta ruin. Majestic pillars tower above you; they support the great arched ceiling made up of soft honey coloured panels. The room felt so warm yet tension was thick in the air, disrupting the microcosm of peace.**

**You blink in surprise, before you stands what seems to be you, but not. The same height and features, identical clothing. Something is terribly wrong, their expression is so blank, empty of empathy, their eyes hold the same hollow gleam that belonged to the other child in green you had dreamed of lately. You shiver at the thick layer of grey-white smudging their jumper. _What is that?_ A knife is drawn out, the blade impossibly sharp and hilt worn from use.**

**Another figure steps out from the shadows cast by the pillars, Sans.**

**“heya, you’ve been busy huh?”**

**Their smile is as serene as ever, slumped casually with their hands in their pockets.**

**“so, i've got a question for ya. do you think even the worst person can change...? that everyone can be a good person, if they just try?”**

**You frown in confusion; _this was definitely not what they said last time this happened, what was going on?_ **

**“heh heh heh heh... all right.” Despite their grin no amusement is visible on their face. “ well, here's a better question.?”**

**Their sockets darken, your breathing stops.**

**“d o  y o u  w a n t  t o  h a v e  a  b a d  t i m e ? cause if you take another step forward... you are REALLY not going to like what happens next.” Pausing for effect.**

**Your doppelganger advances steadily, no hint of fear on their mask like face. You call out to Sans but he doesn’t notice you, as if you don’t exist.**

**“welp. sorry, old lady. this is why i never make promises.”**

**Their smile seems to grow, no trace of humour present.**

**“It’s a beautiful day outside, birds are singing, flowers are blooming. On days like these, kids like you  s h o u l d  b e  b u r n i n g  i n  h e l l. “**

**A skeletal head with a contorted face appears from behind Sans, a beam of light is directed towards your doppelganger which they evade. You are left to observe from the shadows, unable to interact no matter how loudly you shout.**

**You hear a giggle behind you, “Funny isn’t it?”**

**You spin around only to be met with the face of a familiar smirking child, their eyes just as void like as always.**

**“What is this?” you gasp out in horror.**

**Their smile becomes condescending, “Golly, you must really have a bad memory, I distinctly remember telling you about the alternate timelines, this was always my favourite.”**

**“B-But…I never did that…I never reset!”**

**“Oh, I know.” They look disgruntled by this fact, “You really are the most boring iteration I have seen, so many parallel worlds and timelines and the one to corrupt them all thrusts the most mundane person possible into them. I suppose only someone as pathetic as you could lose to a wimp like Asriel. All of the other versions of you had more of a backbone.”**

**“Boring!” You shout in indignation, you flinch slightly when a bone from the raging scene in front of you is flung in your direction. “The fact that I didn’t ever become a murderer in any timeline nor played God makes me a bad person?”**

**They scoff, “Everyone is a bad person, always looking out for themselves, so selfish. The only reason you never used the extent of your powers was because you never reached the end, do you really think you could have resisted the temptation to do it all again? Be the hero? Seems like a dream come true.”**

**You shake your head stubbornly, “No, you’re wrong, it’s not right to play with the lives of others. I would never have reset. I don’t care about what different versions of me from these ‘alternate realities’ did” they gesture towards their hellish double. “That is not and never will be me.”**

**The child chuckles, “Don’t I know it, you’re too much of a coward to dare try claiming that much power. You know I was quite close to that one.” They too point towards them, “Such a great partner, the timelines we destroyed…” They trail off with a disturbingly dreamy smile. “You’re nothing like them whatsoever, I had hoped that I could convince you of the truth of this world.” They laugh sadistically, “After all the world you now inhabit is undeniably ‘kill or be killed.’”**

**“I refuse to be like you.”**

**“Hehehe, I abandoned that plan a while back, I have something much greater in store, let’s just say you’re going to LOVE it!”**

**“Puns…really?”**

**They just giggle again, “see ya ‘round partner.”**

You wake up with a sneezing fit, you feel a soft weight drop back onto your chest, looking down you see Asriel. He furiously wipes his face in disgust as you stare in confusion before brushing off tiny yellow particles from your own face.

“That’s the last time I wake you up from a nightmare Frisk.”

“Hey, it’s not my fault you got pollen all over me and up my nose, I can’t help it.” You protest.

“Humans are gross with their allergies.”

Your bickering is interrupted by the entrance of Undyne and Alphys, you note the fact that they’re holding hands, your lip quirks up, Undyne catches you line of sight and responds with her own smug albeit slightly embarrassed smile.

Alphys hands you the same yellow phone from the last timeline.

“I-I uh realise, that y-you will want to **SAVE** Mettaton next s-so I’m going to guide you through the core…i-if you want, I mean you probably remember already and you won’t want my help because I-I’m well not the best guide and I totally messed up last time and-”

You quickly interrupt their self-depreciating rambling, “I would be really grateful for your help Alphys.”

“Uh…oh…right, of course, we’ll help them in no time as a team.”

“That’s right babe, no one knows Hotlands like you, after all you have the highest nerd status down here!” Undyne adds.

“S-so you can call us whenever you need help, w-we’ll be watching through the cameras.”

You beam up at them, _it’s times like this that remind me how wrong I was to ever doubt them, they’re so eager to help me. **Maybe they just care about their other friends and they’re using you to SAVE them, they might not necessarily care about you.**_ A darker part of your mind whispers, _I can’t think that way, that’s what lead me to this mess in the first place._

You register the fact that Alphys is talking to you again, switching your attention from your thoughts you look up at her. “I-I uh fixed the lift, it s-should take you up to MTT Resort, I will t-talk you through the core like last time.”

You follow her into the True Lab, _didn’t Alphys say that my determination managed to stabilize the Amalgamates?_

“Hey Alphys,” They look up inquiringly, “How are the Amalgamates doing?”

They smile timidly, “T-they are all, uh separated now, I never would have thought that a direct source of fresh determination would have a different effect to the synthetic kind…” They pause sheepishly, “I-I’m sorry I-I stole it from you without your c-consent.”

You give her a reassuring look, “Nah, it’s alright, you weren’t yourself, and they’re fine now, that’s what matters.”

Asriel looks at you uncomprehendingly, a look that seemed to say ‘you’re really okay with her experimenting on you?’ You nod slightly to them, they shrug in bemusement.

You enter the lift with Asriel, as the door shuts you see Alphys wave, Undyne bellows from behind the closed door, “Good Luck PUNK!”

You press the correct button to send the lift to your desired location, _I really hope the lift doesn’t crash again like the last time I used this particular lift from the True Lab._

The door slides open, you wince at the overwhelming red glow radiating from the lobby, in the centre of the room there is an obsidian statue of Mettaton, _vanity thy name is Mettaton._

_Looks like **SAVING** Alphys impacted the earlier section of Hotlands only, the core seems to be tied to Mettaton and Napstablook, we’ll have to careful, the monsters here probably won’t be too welcoming._

There were so many statues of Mettaton littering this one particular area that it made you genuinely uncomfortable, the slightest shift in your peripheral  vision made you jump as you kept being met with Mettaton replicas.

The lobby seemed vacant except for small stalls around the perimeter, you wince as you take in the appearance of some of the posters around the room, mainly violent slasher films featuring Mettaton in their gory glory. _Do people really like watching that crap?_

You glance up at a TV fixed to one of the pitch black walls, a screaming crowd of monsters surround Mettaton, watching a performance of his enthralled, you notice how they flip between being themself and Napstablook, it seemed that whenever they cast their phantom shadows Napstablook’s persona was the most dominant as the sharp topaz eye scoured the room. Mettaton was responsible for a multitude of explosions. A blood-curdling orchestra of shrieks was heard in the background of the set much to your derision. Their red-metallic body plate was doused with fake blood and guts, at least you hoped it was fake. The crowd was sucking the sight in avidly.

_I guess that’s where everyone is today._ You hesitate outside of the door leading to Burgerpants booth, curiosity seemed to get the better of you, Asriel doesn’t seem to register the direction you were walking in, their face looks traumatised by the program still playing on the screen.

You are met with the trembling face of Burgerpants, their fur matted and spotted with patches of exposed skin, the fur looked as if it had been yanked out fiercely. They fix a grimace on their face, a poor imitation of the grin it was supposed to resemble.

“Little Buddy, you have to leave now.” Their voice is a dry rasp, “I heard that **he’s** going to set **his** minions on whoever doesn’t turn up at **his** show.”

“ **He**?” You enquire.

He looks at you as if you’re insane, “Mettaton!” They hiss, they twitch and glance around their shoulder anxiously. “Look buddy, I don’t have anything left to sell, if they catch me talking during work hours I’ll get it,” They draw a clawed paw across their neck in the imitation of a guillotine.

_Does he even know that I’m a human, I mean quite a few monsters were unaware last time, he just seems to be overcome with terror and crippling anxiety, which isn’t that dangerous, **SAVING** Mettaton should help him even still I feel really bad for him, he looks like he’s been beaten badly._

“Em…are you alright?” Asriel asks nervously, they tighten their grip on your arm drifting their face closer to you.

Their eyes light up with hatred, “Oh I’m fine, it’s not like I’m living in a perpetual nightmare, you’re presence is making it worse. Are you trying to get me killed? He has cameras everywhere, I shouldn’t be talking to you!”

You look at him apologetically, “Maybe it’s for the best if we leave, we can’t do any good here by remaining.” You mutter to Asriel.

You leave the store feeling guilt weigh down on you, _he looks so defeated._

You think of exploring the other stalls for items as you were running low, Toriel had given you a lot originally but after so many violent encounters you were lacking healing items. You exit the hotel to head for Bratty and Catty.

“heya pal.” A deep voice rumbles from behind you.

You turn around abruptly, tripping over a loose paving tile.

Sans looks down at you in amusement and offers their hand, _this scenario feels familiar_ , you think wryly.

“did you have a nice trip?” They wink cheerfully.

You roll your eyes and take his hand, thankfully there was no joy buzzer this time and you haul yourself up to your feet, Asriel sways back and forth from the motion and mumbles something about feeling queasy.

“feel like getting a bite to eat?” Sans offers.

“Yeah, thanks I’m starving.”

“thanks for treating me buddy.”

You shoot them a dark look, “Really, your using the same joke as last time?”

“who says it was a joke, after all you owe me from the last two times.” He gives a shit-eating grin as he begins to walk back into MTT to your surprise, _doesn’t he usually use his shortcuts?_

“c’mon, you have to ketchup or i mayo leave you behind.”

“Those last two times don’t count if they were in another timeline!” You call out ahead of yourself, Sans shrugs in acceptance as he leads you to a restaurant.

“so anything I said or did in the other timeline doesn’t count anymore then?”  He replies sarcastically.

The décor had dramatically changed there also, _I thought that the excessive homage to Mettaton was over powering before but this is just…_

The red and black theme dominate the room like many other places in the Underground, however this was even worse, the restaurant had seemingly been themed after one of Mettaton’s films. That meant that fake guts and viscera draped across the pillars, the floor was actually slick under your feet stained scarlet, _yep, really hope this is fake…_ You helped yourself to food from a  nearby buffet bar, luckily some of the food was fairly normal, Asriel stated that he felt to sickened by the room to eat here and retired to your backpack.

You sat in comfortable silence eating a small portion of fries while Sans swigged a bottle of ketchup; much to your disgust.

“so, i guess your journey is nearly at an end huh.” He starts.

You nod determinedly, “Yes. This will be the last time I have to do this, I hope after we **SAVE** Asgore he will allow me to live down here in peace.”

“you’re not intending to fight him?”

“No, last time you all showed up before he started attacking.”

Sans frowns, “and what exactly happened in that period of time causing this corruption?”

You sigh deeply, “It’s complicated, I swear I’ll tell you all about it after this is over. I made a promise to someone, I can’t break their trust.”

“hmm.” Sans looks thoughtful and takes another sip of his condiment before placing it back down onto the table, he fixes you with his undivided attention. “I don’t remember what happened after we all met up in the room before the barrier…how convenient.” He notices your conflicted expression, his sockets narrow slightly, “hey, it’s okay bucko, i’m quite familiar with promises…and deals, i’d never break one.”

You look at him happily, “You’re still keeping you’re promise to Toriel?”

His grin intensifies, “oh course, no bones about it.” He leans back in his seat, “i guess i don’t need to tell you about the first time i met toriel then, it’s funny to think that in the other timeline i didn’t even know her name.”

“Yeah, this stuff really messes with my head, as long as time doesn’t reset again I should hopefully be able to differentiate my memories of the two timelines.”

Sans begins to stand up, “anyways, i best be going, you know how paps is without his bedtime story.”

“I should really call him.” You muse aloud.

“i’m sure he’d be happy to hear from yeh, i think seeing all of his friends act this way has really done a number on him.”

You nod in acknowledgement and watch him turn around and begin to walk away.

“Can’t you just use a shortcut?” _This had been bothering you for some time now, you hadn’t seen him use one since you first met in this timeline._

Sans shrugs, “i’m too much of a lazybones.” He notices your disbelieving look, “nah, i just haven’t got a lot of sleep recently, shortcuts really take it out of me, it requires a lot of magic.”

You frown at him in concern, “I hope you feel better soon.”

He gives you a lazy wave, “don’t worry, i’ll be careful not to catch a femur.”

You’re left alone in the restaurant to contemplate your thoughts, you pick at a remaining fry, _of course, my food is cold now._


	16. The Lies We Tell Ourselves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A completely ordinary chapter where not much happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is probably only going to be something like four chapters after this one, there is a scene in here that I have wanted to write since the begining of this story, my favourite part XD

After leaving MTT Hotel you decide to wake Asriel up from his slumber, standing on the bridge you are met with flashing red lights pulsing in and out of existence. A seemingly bottomless cavern either side of the bridge causes hairs to rise on the back of your neck, no railings or safety precautions of any kind. _On the bright side Mettaton didn’t decorate this far into the core._

“How did lunch go with Sans?” Asriel inquires sleepily, his grip on your arm is slacker than usual, by this point in time the majority of his petals had regrown and gained the previous golden sheen they had lacked.

You pause and your steps slow as you stand before the main lift with a door to both the left and right, the interior was wine red instead of the cobalt blue.  Fine golden threads ran across the base of the ground and up the walls in abstract patterns resembling a massive circuit board.

You sigh softly, “I’m concerned about him.”

Asriel looks puzzled, “He seems his usual annoying self, still making continuous puns, what are you worried about?”

“They look exhausted, they even said that they were lacking sleep, so making shortcuts was too much work.”

Asriel’s eyes widen, “Hmm, that sounds serious,” They frown thoughtfully, “There are quite a few things that can drain a monster of their magic, physical exhaustion means they have to replace their natural body’s energy with magic from the soul.”

“I can’t imagine Sans physically exerting himself, maybe he’s just bothered by all of the things that have been happening; he seems really irritated that he can’t remember what happened before time reset.”

Asriel bobs his head down into his stem in the imitation of a shrug, “Well, we seem to be doing well so far, you must have about **14 HP** by now.”

You nod in confirmation, “Yeah, started with **10 HP** , gained one from the Ruins, Snowdin, Waterfall and Hotlands. Do you think that I will gain another from the Core or not? Both Sans and Papyrus were **SAVED** in Snowdin and I only gained **1 HP** , I guess it will depend on whether the Core is classed as Separate to Hotlands.”

“I dunno, although this area is contaminated so purifying this area along with helping Mettaton and Napstablook should gain you another **1 HP**.”

You stand before the lift and check it, this one appears to be broken like before, _I wish Alphys could have fixed this one too, oh well the fact that the other one was fixed meant I could skip out on meeting Muffet._

Your phone rings, to your horror Alphys has changed the ringtone to Mew Mew Kissy Cutie, wincing at the phone you answer it.

“O-oh God…I’ve just been l-looking at the Cameras, I can’t believe what Mettaton has done to the Hotel. Anyway I-I promised to help guide you…properly this time. So you’ll want to go left.”

The phone clicks off without giving you any time to respond, Asriel gestures towards the correct door and you proceed.  This time at the end of the red corridor there are no force fields and lasers, in anticipation of Alphys’ next call you draw your phone out once again, she didn’t defy your expectation as the light hearted music drifted from the speaker of your phone once again.

“H-hey…this is A-Alphys by the way, in case uh…well I should have said that last time.”

“Yeah, I have caller ID,”

“Oh…r-right…of course, I designed it. W-well I turned off the lasers and stuff, t-they shouldn’t bother you, for r-real.”

_I remember last time when she set the whole thing up, orchestrating the whole situation to seem like a hero. Although it was Mettaton who hired all of the monsters to attack us, Alphys really did care and wanted to convince me not to leave. With her help, this time we should be able to get through much more efficiently._

You begin to make your way through a labyrinth, your eyes widen as you take in the next room, the walls seemed to be moving, writhing like snakes. Thick tendrils of darkness throb around you, you hesitantly step onto the path between the walls, _are they breathing?_ They expanded and shrank like they were inhaling and exhaling.

“I don’t like this! Can’t we just go back and get Alphys to fix the lift.” Asriel whimpers, his leaves were shuddering and his face was strained with fear,

“We need to keep going,” you insist, “We’re nearly there.”

They bury their flower head into your hair to cover their eyes, “Tell me when it’s gone.”

The walls didn’t shift too close to the path luckily as you attempted to navigate the Core, more disturbing than their physical appearance were the sounds coming from them, at first it sounded like heavy breathing yet the more you progressed the more terrifying the sounds became.

The sound of crying cut through the shadows, agonised wailing amongst other voices, some seemed to mumble inane things, each voice warping and overlapping the last, they became indistinguishable from one another, a haunting echo of a song lyric. _Sorrows?_

There were still no monsters in sight; _the whole population of Hotlands couldn’t have been at Mettaton’s compulsory show,_ then it suddenly hits you, _they’re in the walls._

An arm reaches out from the wall, viscous ink slowly dripping from it; there was no distinguishable colour under the coating of Sorrow. _Welp I’m out of here._

To your irritation your phone rings again, “F-frisk…I don’t know what’s going on, you have to run-”

“I know that!” You yell back.

“”I-I can lock the doors behind you to stop some of it following y-you.” You can hear Undyne in the background, “Do I need to teach you to run nerd, GET OUT OF THERE!”

“W-what’s going on?!” Asriel asks, he makes the mistake of looking just as a twisted dark face, melded with shadow emerges, their face look as if it was melting.

They give a shriek and send a spray of pellets at it; it recoils and weaves back into the pulsating walls

You run faster than you ever had before, the hounds of hell’s metaphorical equivalent at your heels, it was fortunate that you could remember the majority of the paths you had taken last time despite them being shrouded in darkness.

Finally you reach a familiar ornate door, an eye is fixed above the intricate arch around the top, _this is the entrance to the stage that I fought Mettaton on._

“Oh Yes, darling you’ve finally arrived.”

Dozens of spotlights rain down upon Mettaton in all their glory, all four arms raised out with a dramatic flourish.

“Tonight we have our greatest performance yet! The renowned superstar will ascend from this shithole to reign supreme over humanity.”

You are engulfed with the answering cheers, the circular platform on which you stand begins to elevate, the door is cut off from your reach. The crowd below are dressed in a terrifying array of costumes; they looked like extras from one of Mettaton’s slasher films; doused in crimson and avidly watching your every move.

Their yellow eye flashes and very familiar dark tentacles arise from the yellow arms,

“Stupid human, do you really think that love was enough, what cheap sentiment. You should have left well enough alone. Corrupting Dr Alphys was the last straw of your abominable acts,” adds Napstablook in a deeper, more menacing voice.

With a violent tug your soul is pulled free, it now holds a brighter red hue than it had when you awoke, no longer the colour of dried blood, a rich red wine; it wasn’t close off the vivid scarlet.

A pink fluorescent beam of light is aimed at you; the crowd erupts in boos as you shield your eyes from the intense glare.

“Kill them.”

“Take their soul.”

“Human filth.”

A repetitive chant of “Kill Kill Kill!” starts up.

“Now my beloved viewers,” they hold a red arm up, “You have to be patient; I’m going to have some fun.”

A collective groan of disapproval resounds, Mettaton hesitates slightly. Asriel watches them with a calculated look before a smile forms on their devious face. They begin to laugh to the astonishment of everyone else, you watch them in confusion.

“Now I see.” He says simply.

Mettaton glares at him, “You don’t have the right to mock a star like me in the presence of my adoring fans, to what are you referring?”

“It was quite obvious from when we first met.”

You have to lurch out of the way of a series of sparks and tentacles homing in on you, they clatter loudly against the walls as they miss. Mettaton bares their teeth in frustaration.

“Shut the fuck up! You know nothing about us you pathetic weed!” Napstablook snarls.

“You’re both so incredibly insecure, you crave the attention of your audience, it’s like oxygen to you. Without them you would be nothing.”

Their eyes glow red once more, both of them this time as Mettaton takes control, they send out small versions of themselves in their original form, they spray you with bolts of light which you are quick to evade.

“I don’t need any of them, they are lucky to even see me. They are the nobodies I will always be better than everyone.”

The crowd starts to hiss out angrily at Mettaton, they begin to throw their food and drink cans at the stage. A starfait collides with their face, trickling lurid rainbow colours down their hair. Their eyes harden and shine topaz yellow.

Their shadow grows and swallows the crowd; they desperately attempt to scramble out of the way, panicked yells of anger echo around the stage.

“Dumb robot.”

“We only came because you forced us to!”

“We all hate you, you will never be loved.”

The last one causes a pained sound to escape from Mettaton as their eyes fade into rubies.

“I don’t need your love; I have your pain and despair. You fear me. I have power over you.” They growl and send bolts of lightning into the audience, a small rabbit child is struck, they squeal in pain as their mother rushes to protect them.

“You need to stop; you have no reason to hurt them.” You call out from behind a plaster beam which must have been used as a previous prop; it turns to ash before your eyes, rendered useless by Mettaton’s wrath, a storm of hatred.

“They are my fans, they should obey me, comply with my every whim. Grovel at my feet for forgiveness traitors!”

The crowd becomes increasingly more panicked as they become deprived of their sight by Napstablook’s shadows. Mettaton realises they are being ignored and returns their attention to you.

“And now you don’t have them anymore, no more ‘adoring fans’ what do you have?” Asriel asks sweetly.

A tentacle slams into the supporting beams above the stage sending them down upon you, for a second you freeze; Asriel absorbs the impact of the beams with his vines sending them swinging back at their sender.

“Tell me, what are you without your fans? Who are you?”

“I am Mettaton!” They scream, “I need no one, they don’t appreciate my genius and beauty, the sacrifices I made to get this far!”

“Does it fucking matter who we are? We’re about to kill you,” Napstablook sends a volley of compact shadows towards the two of you; this doesn’t deter Asriel’s insults.

Their grin becomes wider, “Exactly, it doesn’t matter who you are, to anyone but yourselves, at the end of the day you are the person who has to be comfortable with the decisions you make. No matter how hard you deny your feelings and any responsibility there is no definitive escape.” Asriel’s voice is full of passion, awe inspiring.

_I’m not sure i need to contribute to this; I would probably ruin whatever plan he has._

“What are you getting at? What do you know anyway?!”

“I know what it’s like to live for another person and dwell in regret; you have to love yourself before you can accept the love of others. You don’t need your fans’ admiration or fear; after all don’t you have the most important person by your side already?”

Mettaton looks conflicted and ceases their attacks temporarily, their body shakes as Napstablook forcefully retakes control.

“What do you think you’re doing Mettaton, this is what you’ve always dreamed of, you have one measly plant in the way of you stealing that human’s soul. You’re really going to give up?!”

“You will still always have your cousin won’t you?” You add, “Isn’t that enough? Aren’t they going to be the only person you know for certain that truly cares for you?”

Asriel nods in approval at you for picking up on their train of thought. _So we can appeal to Mettaton’s need to be loved and accepted through their insecurity of their image, how do we appeal to Napstablook?_

“Blooky…I…is there even a point trying this? Even if we claim the human’s soul for ourselves and make everyone adore us…it won’t be real will it? The human’s would be the same and…we’ve hurt the ones that claim to love us in any case…” Their red arms flail around anxiously in distress.

“We have to keep going, they belong to us, who cares if they want to or not!” Napstablook snapped.

“But they won’t genuinely love us!” Mettaton cried out. He falls to his knees amidst the debris and sobs. “No one will ever love me for who I am.”

Their body spasms and their yellow arms attempt to push them out of the rubble even though the rest of their body remains stationary.  “No! If you give up then you won’t need me anymore. Have you any idea what it’s like being left behind while you flaunt yourself on stage? The only reason I’m with you now is because Dr Alphys had to forcefully insert me to remain with you, you couldn’t care less about me, only my abilities. I’m just a convenience, if you stop this pursuit I’ll be left behind again!”

By now all of their struggling subsides, they continue to cry, both of them, as they comfort one another.

“I’m sorry Blooky, I don’t need their love, I felt so alone…they made me feel better about myself. I guess I didn’t want to worry you with my problems, I promise I’ll never leave you behind again.”

“Metta…I…I should have been a better cousin to you…I’m so needy…and weak…” Napstablook moans.

You stand with Asriel watching the odd self-embrace held by the two in front of you, the shadows recede from the crowd now granted with sight. A dark shape rises out of Mettaton as their yellow arms become slack. A small black ghost with eerie amber eyes hovers over Mettaton, the darkness leaches away into nothingness, piercing white light radiates from them filling the entire room.

When the light fades the robotic body of Mettaton is gone.

Instead a fragile ghost with a gentle shade of rose pink illuminating them floats in its place. They look nervous and drift closer to Napstablook, a phantom lock of hair still obscures one eye. Napstablook looks equally worried but stands in front of them protectively in fear of the audience’s reaction to the whole affair.

Suddenly a monster resembling a clam whistles loudly,

“That performance was rad!”

This encouraged more cheering and encouragement, Mettaton eventually drifts out from behind their cousin, still apprehensive about their reaction to everything they said and their former appearance.

“Oh my God! They’re so cute.”

“Who gave you such an adorable new look?!”

Mettaton smiles shyly, they begin to spin in the air and form ghostly love hearts in the air to the audience’s awe.

They introduce their cousin proudly to the audience as well as you and Asriel.

 After finally leaving the stage and listening to an hour long speech about Mettaton’s devotion for their cousin you could at long last exit the stage.

“Well that was certainly something.” Asriel murmurs tiredly.

“You realise there is no way I could have **SAVED** them without you.”

“I didn’t do much,” they reply bashfully.

You pull Asriel off your arm into a hug, “I’m so glad I have you, I wouldn’t have had the determination to get through the Underground a second time without you by my side.”

Your phone rings interrupting you.

“O-oh gosh, I tried to contact you but Mettaton s-set up a system to block your signal.”

“It’s fine Alphys, we’re heading towards the castle now.”

“Hey Punk, that was a…interesting way to fight, anyway I’ll go gather everyone up to meet you. Don’t enter the throne room without us!” Undyne buts in.

“W-wait for us in the Judgement Hall.”

The phone clicks off again.

“Ready for the final one?” You ask.

“I can’t believe we’ve managed to restore everyone in the Underground except one, it seemed an impossible task.”

“Nothings impossible for the two of us.”

Asriel grins at you as you make your way through long monochrome corridors, _well the castle seemingly has the same interior, just as drab as ever._

You reach the main house, Asriel stares at it with a look of nostalgia and melancholia, the only pinpricks of light are the golden flowers adorning the rooms. You look at your reflection in the mirror, battered and bruised yet the flare of determination and growing hope glimmer in your eyes. _It’s still me._

You don’t enter any of the rooms out of respect for Asriel, _it would probably reopen old wounds if we enter his childhood room._

Through the basement you find a wide assortment of monsters greeting you as you make your way to the exit.

“It’s Frisk!”

“They **SAVED** us all.”

“Soon our king will be happy again.”

“Aren’t you excited, we’re all going to be **SAVED**!”

You felt astonished by how different their words were this time round, actually happy to see you, regarding you as some kind of hero. _Is it possible that I’m seen that highly, none of them seem to care that I possess the last soul they need…_

Asriel smiles at you, genuinely happy for all of the things you accomplished together.

You reach the next door, giving way to the golden hallway, shaped like an angel’s carving, varied amber and butterscotch hues setting the room aglow. The Judgement Hall.

You refused to allow your previous dream of this place taint your view of its beauty. _Well, I guess it’s time to wait ‘till everyone shows up._

A figure shrouded in shadows approaches.

“so, you finally made it.”

You smile lightly at the familiar words.

“soon everything will be over, everyone will finally be **SAVED** , i’m impressed, yet again you have shown your undying compassion. not a trace of **LOVE** or **EXP**.” They continue, shadows give way to your beloved friend, Sans grins at you.

“we owe you and your friend everything,” They gesture towards Asriel as well as yourself. “you are so filled with love for everyone, seeing the best in us all despite our faults. even when we attempted to kill you, you refused to give up on us, protecting us from our own demons.”

You step towards Sans, your footsteps loud on the well-polished golden tiles, “It hasn’t been easy but I was determined to fix this mess, to **SAVE** you all.”

Sans gives you a sad look, “i can’t imagine what it must have been like for you, going through all of this. it must have been hard to look at the people who you know as your friends treat you that way.”

You nod, _he’s right, it was difficult but I wouldn’t change my decision to go through this for anything._ “I’m glad that you all let me help you, the characteristics you all displayed were dormant parts of your personalities kept hidden, even if that wasn’t your true selves it doesn’t mean it wasn’t a part of you, you were all hurting.”

“you’ve been through so much.” Sans opens his arms out in the gesture of a hug with a gentle look on his face, “c’mere pal.”

You walk up to him and wrap your arms around him, accepting his comforting embrace.

 

 

A sudden sharp impact forces its way into your back, a torturous burning sensation spreads through you. You stare up at Sans, still clutching you hard, the white lights in his eyes become extinguished, a single crimson flame burns in one socket as his grin twists into something sadistic.

You cough violently, blood chocking you as it splutters out of your mouth, spraying the front of Sans blue jacket, impaled in so many places you only have the strength to maintain eye contact, incapable of speech. You briefly register Asriel’s horrified shouts of panic as your vision shimmers before your eyes. The edges fade out and darkness descends, washing over you.

The last thing you’re aware of is three words, uttered in a voice full of amusement and hatred equally.

“get dunked on.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, did I say ordinary chapter? I meant death and betrayel, I often confuse the two.  
> I regret nothing. XD
> 
> *Manical evil laughter*  
> I'm pretty sure you knew this was coming, quite a few of you picked up on things that weren't quite right.


	17. Sans Amour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chilling in the void and bickering about time shenanigans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I hope you've enjoyed reading this so far, thank you for all of the kudos and comments I've received. XD

**You’re sat in a field of golden flowers, faces upturned to the sky, sunlight filters the air, the sweet scent of grass invades your nose. _Am I on the surface?_**

**You watch clouds drift aimlessly in the cerulean sky as it begins to bleed red, the sun dying, only to be reborn another day.**

**The colours flash vividly in your mind, crimson stains splattering blue. The terror. Betrayal.**

**You remain lying in the blossoms watching the night capture the horizon, oddly numb, for once you could think clearly. All of the little things that didn’t add up with Sans’ actions, it all made sense.**

**You begin laughing, mocking yourself, _what was I doing? Did I really think I could make a difference? If I didn’t exist in the first place then the world would never have reset, Asriel would never have claimed my soul, I wouldn’t have ruined all of these lives…Sans wouldn’t be this way. God…I’m so stupid…how did I not see?_**

**Your mind begins to mull over all of the signs that you had missed.**

**First you check your HP, it was 16… _that’s an additional two HP, one from Napstablook and one from Mettaton, we were wrong, it isn’t a new HP per area SAVED from corruption it’s per Monster I battle, it wasn’t noticeable at first as only one Monster was tied to the corruption of the area, I assumed that the one HP was from Saving Snowdin…but no…it was just Papyrus…Sans was never SAVED. Toriel, Papyrus, Undyne, Alphys, Mettaton and Napstablook…not The Ruins, Snowdin, Waterfall, Hotlands and The Core._**

**_Sans…all along he had been pretending…_ **

**_None of us ever did see him change back to his ordinary self, how easy it would be to don his original clothing, the question is how did he remember the previous timeline without his positive emotions being restored along with his memory?_ **

** “ya know, lots of little things triggered it, people in town saying stuff and you running around all over the place, i was bound to remember eventually.” **

**_What a feeble excuse…how did I not see through something like that?_ **

**_There was also the distinct lack of pranks like the telescope, he was nowhere to be found at any of his stations, the only other time I saw him was at MTT Hotel. He acted so jumpy around us all of the time, come to think of it I even laughed off the fact that there was so much untouched ketchup in the fridge, before he pretended to change he drank mustard. Didn’t Undyne say something about not wanting to clean Sans’ room?_ **

** “PAPYRUS! I refuse to clean the whole house, only the living room and kitchen were trashed! You can’t make me go in there, not with all the weird yellow gunk! “ **

**_Mustard…?_ **

**You softly repeat something Sans said to you at the restaurant:**

**“i’m quite familiar with promises…and deals, i’d never break one.”**

**Repeating those words aloud left a bitter taste in your mouth; _he said he would protect me…_**

**Thinking back you could recall that when Sans teleported after you left the Ruins he left residual red light, _was that why he couldn’t teleport in front of me, because his magic would give it away?_**

**“Having fun there?”**

**You sit up immediately, met with the poisonous angelic smile of the child haunting your dreams.**

**“That’s got to be one of the best deaths I’ve seen so far, much funnier than the time one of your iterations killed Papyrus as he offered them a hug.”**

**You shiver at their words, “What do you want, are you just here to gloat?”**

**“Pretty much.” They confirm, blank eyes lighting up somehow, “I warned you from the start that you couldn’t trust anyone, they always betray you.” They finish with a cynical smile.**

**“You sound like you’re acquainted with the feeling.”**

**“Yes.” They analyse you for a moment before continuing, “My own brother, I trusted him with the fate of the entire Monster Race and he filed us all.” They sit down amongst the flowers with you. “I fell down here long ago; I was raised as their sibling, the _traitor’s_ sibling. I poisoned myself with golden flowers so my soul would be absorbed, we planned to collect souls from the surface to free the monsters…he broke his promise.”**

**They pluck a flower from the ground and slowly pull the petals out, one by one.**

**“He was a coward!” Their hand encloses the remains of the flower head, crushing it in their palm. “He carried my body to the surface, we were attacked by villagers and he wouldn’t fight back. He let me die again!”**

**This story was beginning to feel very familiar to you; _this is what the monsters told me last time on the way to Asgore’s castle._ You suddenly knew who they were. _The one Toriel tried to replace with me._**

**“Chara.” You state in a soft voice. They cease their angry rant, expression going blank for a second before their lips twist into a mocking smile.**

**“Give that kid a medal; it took you this long to work it out. I guess you were _dead_ set on me being your imaginary friend.” Chara laughs scornfully.**

**“What does it matter now? I might as well just stay here.”**

**Their expression hardens, their smile more vicious, eyebrows furrowed.**

**“I don’t think so. How will you SAVE your precious friends if you’re here in the void, you have to LOAD your SAVE point.”**

**“This is the void?” You were confused, this seemed the exact opposite of the oppressive darkness and Sorrow infested hell.**

**“What? You think I want to hang around in the dark, this is a place of things that don’t exist, abandoned hopes and dreams consumed by sorrow. This scene before us no longer exists in reality, destroyed by the human’s greed for the resources dwelling bellow luscious nature. I can reconstruct the reality around us from the lingering fragments.”**

**You lay your head back down in the grass, taking deep breaths, _they’re right, I have to return, I owe it to my friends to stay determined and correct the mistakes I made._**

**“Why do you care whether I return or not? I could just choose to remain here in between the LOADS in the void.”**

**Chara pushes themselves up of the ground and shrugs, “The void is a boring place, I can watch reality progress through windows. Let’s just say that watching you get ripped to pieces again and again is an appealing idea.”**

**You sigh softly, the stars have begun to pierce through the dark ether casting a gentle light over your face.**

**“I better be going then.”**

**“Put on a good show for me!” Chara winks.**

You stand trembling at the entrance of the judgement hall, your body refuses to co-operate and let you through the door. You fall to your knees. A shifting on your arm alerts you to Asriel’s presence.

The horror and concern on their face makes you feel even more guilt for your naivety, _I put them in danger._

They frantically scramble across your shoulder and cling to your chest, vines wrapped around the back of your neck, eyes searching your face desperately. He opens and closes his mouth multiple times, attempting to speak to you.

“F-Frisk…” They whimper, “I-I’m so sorry, you were right, there was something wrong with Sans, you said before you were concerned for them and I just dismissed it. My actions made him this way…I can’t believe h-he…all along…he…”

You hush Asriel, tears prickle the corners of your eyes as you hold them close to you.  “It will be okay, we were deceived by them but we will **SAVE** them like everyone else, no matter if they want to be **SAVED** or not.”

You unsteadily rise to your feet, tears streaking your face and Asriel on guard on your shoulder you step once again into the judgement hall. Your foot steps were barely audible, solemnly approaching the centre of your room, the warmth of the sun streaming through the windows did nothing to melt the frozen state of your heart.

You stop and await their arrival. As anticipated they appear in a flash of magma hued light, still dressed in their blue jacket, a mockery of what they were no longer.

A wide grin spreads across their face, their hands casually thrust in the pockets of their shorts, they look completely at ease, a single pulse of red light flickers in one socket teasingly.

“that expression on your face, that’s the expression of someone who has been oh so terribly betrayed. back so soon kiddo, you must have really LOVED my bone crushing hug.”

You hesitantly advance towards Sans, Asriel leans forwards defensively preparing to attack if necessary. Sans makes no move to approach you, he just stands and watches calmly.

“You planned this, from the beginning.”

He shrugs his shoulders casually, “you call us your friends, if you really knew me then it would be obvious that something was wrong,” You open your mouth, your words die down as his sockets become pitch black, “i’m nothing to you and you are certainly nothing to me.”

You swallow hard, your footsteps stutter to a halt a couple of metres apart from him, “Why go to such lengths? You always claim to be so apathetic, even if you dislike me what was the point tricking and befriending me again with the intention to murder me?”

He begins to chuckle, his expression back to being perfectly amiable.

“i thought i already told you, i made a promise to Toriel, i always keep my promises.” Their voice takes on a sinister edge.

You glare at him, “How! How could you possibly be keeping your promise, you said you would keep an eye out for me and protect me!”

“i seem to recall you saying that the things that happened in the previous timeline lack relevance in this one.” They put on a fake high pitched voice, **“Those last two times don’t count if they were in another timeline!”** He smirks at your distraught expression, “According to your logic that deal is now null and void, i happened to have made a new deal in this timeline, this one takes precedence other the previous one, sorry for the inconveniences.”

Asriel looks sick, raising a leaf towards Sans accusingly , “What kind of messed up deal did you make?”

“so glad you asked, i was dared by none other than your precious ‘mother’ i was told that the new human was highly unusual, sparing the residents of the Ruins, i was told that i must succeed where everyone else failed. that pathetic excuse for a royal guard did nothing, they allowed themselves to be tricked by your charms and goody-two-shoes act.”

You are now shaking a lot more rapidly, your legs can barely support your weight and you haven’t even begun fighting yet. _Toriel asked him to kill us?_

Asriel notices your distress, “She most likely made that deal before we **SAVED** her, she and Trashbag often talk through that door to one another. I’m certain that if you spoke to Toriel now she would definitely tell you to stop, she cares about us.”

Sans’ eye sockets narrow, “that _thing_ is not Toriel, nor is that chipper idiot _my_ brother, i don’t know what you did to them but i won’t let you win, i will kill you over and over again, as many times as it takes for you to give up!”

“ i ‘ m  g o I n g  t o  h a v e  a  g r e a t  t i m e ! ”

Their left hand is raised towards you, a single phalange stretched out from the fist made, to point at you. Your soul is drawn from your chest, a dark rose red thrumming with the determination to help your friend. By now you were quite familiar with the sensation of an empty chest, the focus of your entire being compressed into one point hovering just outside of your chest.

You brace yourself for their first attack, the contorted faces of skeletal dragon like creatures appear, the same ones you saw in your dream. You were unprepared for the sudden increase of gravity, your soul a rich navy, the tugging sensation around it restricted your movement.

With all of your might you put extra force into a jump to evade a surge of sharpened bones arising from the ground, not eager to be impaled again. The skeletal mouths open wide to release crimson laser beams, they follow a pattern, circling you and attempting to trap you. More bones fly at you from either side in addition to the lasers, after having witnessed similar attacks from an alternate version of Sans in your dreams; as a memory shown by Chara you were more prepared than you should have been.

Somehow you make it through the first wave of attacks without sustaining any damage. Sans raises his malleable brow of bone at finding you unscathed.

“looks like you’re a little too familiar with this scene, hmm i wonder…”

You stiffen and resume ducking and dodging .

“i’ve always thought it best to start with your strongest attack, there’s no need to play with your food.” His grin is menacing, one socket hollow and absent of the comforting white lights and the other aglow with raging flames.

You call out to him, “How is it possible for you to remember the past timeline if you can’t remember your compassion, they should return in tandem with one another?”

You are caught unaware by a bone slamming into the back of your head, you are knocked off your feet onto the hard polished ground.

“stupid brat, you think you understand how time travel works? you think you understand every implication of your resets?”

You roll over to the left to avoid great pillars of bone splitting the ground, eventually you make it back to your feet, the added weight of the increased gravity doesn’t help at all.

“I’ve never reset before in my life, I’ve **LOADED SAVE** points when I die. I’m only responsible for another person resetting once because I gave up! You make it sound like I’ve done it multiple times.”

Sans glowers at you, the flame in his eye appears to expand and flare, the laser dragons that he refers to as Gaster Blasters (for some reason the name gives you _déjà vu)_

_His body language was a lot more stiff instead of the relaxed slouch he held before, his lower body had remained stationary throughout the fight as he hurled projectiles at you, this was due to the fact you insisted on **ACTING** as opposed to **FIGHTING**. Now he seemed to be repressing rage._

_“you would fucking dare…you would dare tell such a bold face lie to me. i know of every iteration of you, every single fucking timeline. i know of every sin you have ever committed, the people you’ve massacred. you would claim innocence, one good timeline doesn’t make you a bloody saint.”_

_Bile rises in your throat, “I never did those things! You speak of other iterations, those are completely separate to me, I’m not responsible for a version of me that exists in a parallel world for god sake. If there are so many parallel timelines then I’m sure everyone is equally terrible or kind in certain ones. I have only personally ever existed in two timelines!”_

_“Bloody hypocrite, Frisk has never done anything wrong in their life, here you are trying to murder them,_ _again._ _” Asriel yells in your defence._

_“i’ve seen them all…” Sans mumbles to himself, “every last timeline, every time i close my eyes to sleep i am plagued by your resets, you fucking with time again and again for your own pleasure. i can barely tell them apart anymore but i know they’re all real. y o u  c a u s e d  t h e m.”_

_“It wasn’t me!” You keep insisting, so caught up in arguing that you don’t notice a bone aiming for your heart, Asriel reacts before you do, throwing himself into the path of it, the splintered edge of bone pierces him. His head twists towards you, pain and anguish twisting their features before attempting to smile sadly at you._

_“F-Frisk…I” They crumble into dust before your eyes._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RIP


	18. The Fight That Might Happen When You Run From Sans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans is really resisting being SAVED

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of your comments and Kudos, it means a lot to me. XD

“ASRIEL!” You scream out, eyes stretched wide in horror, your chest physically hurt. Greyish dust coats your fingers as you clutch at his remains. _I’m a failure, because of my inadequacy my friend died. If only I was better then they wouldn’t have died for me. This is all my fault._

Your vision blurs as tears well up, through your shimmering vision you can see Sans watching you, the arch of bone above one socket raised, almost curiosity painted across his features.

“asriel…huh? i thought their name was flowey.” They no longer look pleasantly surprised, venom washing over his face. “i guess it’s just another one of the things you lied about brat. you mean to say that that weed was the former prince?!”

You don’t answer him, glancing down at your soul you see a darkening in the shade of red responding to your grief. You shut your eyes and concentrate the focus of your determination, in your mind you vividly picture the entrance to the Judgement hall, the last place you **SAVED**. In the past you had only used your abilities to come back from death yet a part of you knew it was possible to return to these points in time through sheer determination.

You hear a deep intake of breath from Sans. A growl resonates from him. “don’t you fucking dare! d i r t y  c h e a t ! “

You meld into the darkness behind your shut lids, your head feels fuzzy and warmth encompasses you. Gasping you reopen your eyes, met with the sight of the elaborate entrance to the Judgement Hall. Quickly looking down relief fills you, Asriel is once again curled up on your shoulder, his eyes searching your own.

“Why did you **LOAD**?” He whispers in a meek voice, “That could have been your chance to get past him.”

You stiffen in surprise, “What do you mean? After all we’ve been through do you really think I’m going to leave you dead? We’re in this together, you said it yourself, I owed it to you to bring you back.”

Asriel shakes his head sadly, “You don’t owe me anything, I took everything away from you, I would gladly sacrifice myself to protect you.”

You glare at him, “You don’t have to do that! I’m not worth others sacrificing themselves for me, it’s because I exist that all of this happened!”

“Even if I didn’t owe you anything it would still be my duty, as your friend…as your older brother.”

Your heart throbs at the last bit, your fingers reach out to caress his petals, running them over the smooth texture as he sighs softly.

“I don’t deserve your kindness, I’ve already proved that I’m a bad friend, doubting other’s intentions, people have died because of me in the past…my own father…”

He shakes his head stubbornly, “The past doesn’t matter, what matters now is that I am here, so many people are here for you, you have to stay determined!”

Smiling shakily, “You’re right, I owe it to everyone not to give up.”

Eyeing the door ahead of you warily you glance back down at Asriel, “I don’t know if I can go in there again.” You begin to step towards the door, your trembling increases the closer you get, as you stand at the edge of the hall your heart races. _I can’t go through this again, I can’t…_

A beam of light from a Gaster Blaster shoots past your left shoulder, you turn on your heel and flee.

 _I’msorrySansI’msorryeveryoneIcan’t,_ your mind whirls, thoughts racing confusingly, the only thing that mattered was getting as far away from Sans as possible.

You race down the now vacant corridor through the castle.

“Frisk what are you doing, we have to go back?!” Asriel shouts in vain, his words falling to deaf ears, you couldn’t concentrate on the implications of your actions.

You wrestle with Asriel’s writhing vines as he urges you both physically and verbally to turn back, the scenery around you was nothing more than a blur of colour, panting desperately for air yet unable to stop running. After a long while of ignoring Asriel’s protests he gives up and allows you to flee, you collapse to your knees just outside of MTT Hotel, your legs had given out after running for so long, _Undyne would be proud_ , you think wryly.

“I’m so tired…” You utter in defeat.

“I know.”

“I can’t…”

“Do you want me to try?”

You look at him quizzically, “What do you mean?”

Asriel’s vines elongate and coil around the rest of your limbs, they continue to spread and tighten, like a marionette you are pulled to your feet.  Surprisingly it didn’t feel bad, you could relax, you trusted Asriel.

“I can take over for you, it will relieve the stress on your body, I know how to defend us, it will give you a break. Do you want to head back?”

You shake your head, “Not just yet, I want to talk to Alphys about something in Hotlands.”

You feel the vines shift slightly to accommodate your weight as you are walked past multiple posters of Mettaton, _wow he already has new posters up_ , on the wall there were pictures of Mettaton in their ghost form adorning the paper, _I wonder if he now feels more comfortable with his original appearance._

Heavy footsteps echo from behind you, you spin around only to be greeted by a very familiar sadistic smile.

“did you really think you could escape from me?”

Your body starts to freeze up again, the memory of the brutal and unfeeling way he murdered both you and Asriel was deeply unsettling. Luckily Asriel reacts by turning you around and forcing your legs to move, you slacken in the grasp of his vines allowing him to move you as far away as possible from Sans.

You feel a sudden wave of apprehension as the walls change to crimson and black, webs intricately lace the walls, some are woven into images, faces with gaping moves and features screwed up. _What’s going on? I thought Hotlands was purified._ Your head briefly turns around behind you to see if Sans is following. There was no sign of him, this wasn’t reassuring in the slightest.

A flash of red causes Asriel to halt, no longer forcing your body forward, you stumble slightly, regaining your balance.

Sans stands in front of you looking cocky, his hands stretch outwards to pull your soul free from your chest, a red glow surrounds your soul from their magic forcefully removing it.

“your sins will haunt you forever, i will exact justice for every act of violence every iteration of you has committed. i am karma.”

 _Oh shit, shit, shit, shit, what do I do!_ You try to rationally think about Sans and the darkness consuming his soul _, he wants justice, he is obsessed with revenge for things I’ve never done, in a way the dark trait poisoning him is similar to Undyne, I don’t think throwing spaghetti at him will help this time…_

Sans takes a step back as he summons another Gaster Blaster to attack you, his form falters as the step he took causes his foot to sink into a mass of webs behind him. Suddenly his body is jolted up into the air, he tries to swipe at the tendrils of web wrapped around his tibia, suspending him in the air. The web proved to be a lot stronger than it looked.

“Ahuhuhuhu.”

Your gaze flickers from being fixed on Sans flailing form to the figure now beside him. Muffet.

_Oh God, I thought that I had avoided her by using the lift, why didn’t she revert back to herself when we **SAVED** Alphys, isn’t she a part of Hotlands?_

Her lilac tinted skin contrasted with her red and black pinafore dress, a skirt of dark lace that looked suspiciously like woven spider web  over a pair of scarlet pantaloons , they matched a corset of the same colour and material. A black ribbon set under her chin had the emblem of a spider in the centre.  The five eyes fixed closest to the front of her face were all trained on Sans as he cursed and attempted to free himself.

“I’m afraid that won’t work dearie, those webs are made from my magic, only I can relinquish their grasp on you.”

They walk around them in a slow circle, “What an interesting catch today, I’ve never used a skeleton as an ingredient before.”

Sans glares down at her, “i reckon i won’t taste very good, i’m all bones.”

She lets out a hissing sound, “You know that my domain is off limits, anyone who enters is free **EXP** , I’m sure you’ll be delicious.”

“stupid bitch, there’s a human standing right there and you’d rather kill me?”

Her head twists towards you, half of her eyes remain on Sans as a precaution, “I’m so sorry dearie how rude of me not to notice you.”

You can feel Asriel jittering anxiously as his hold on your limbs squeezes tighter in preparation for what would come next.

“I-I think that I better be going….” You stutter out.

Their eyes flash with malice, “I disagree, how could I possibly deny my pets of the chance to taste something so unusual.”

_Not only does she want to eat me but Sans too, is that cannibalism? They’re both monsters but different types…I don’t even know…_

The soul in front of you begins to feel constricted as it floods with the colour purple, you begin to stick to layers of web stretching out, you can only muster the strength to slide across them.

“My pet’s hungry, I think you’ll make a tasty appetizer.”

A massive spider materialises behind Muffet, it is dressed to resemble a muffin like before except that now it stands bigger by tenfold, fur stained a brilliant blood red.

It lurches towards you before seemingly changing its mind and begins to close in on Sans.

“Idiotic beast, he’s for later, kill the child!” Muffet screeches.

Sans is now sweating profusely, the webs seem to be interfering with his ability to teleport, as his arms are not obstructed he can somehow still summon more rudimentary attacks. The closer the spider approaches the more bones are hurled at it, it makes a strange squealing sound as one strikes it’s head.

“You dare touch my pet, skeleton! I will use your bones as a mold to cook my next batch of cakes, piece of filth!”

 You notice that the spider’s **HP** is decreasing rapidly, it lacks the sense to retreat from Sans under the orders of its mistress _, even though it being defeated would be good news for me I can’t let Sans kill it!_

Muffet twists back to you, she begins to approach you with several kitchen knives and rolling pins clenched in her fists. “I will take care of you myself!! They snarl viciously, “All humans are the same, treating spiders as worthless beings, trampling on them, murderers, all of you!”

You can feel Asriel urging you to move out of the way, Asriel readjusts himself so his stem and flower head rest on top of your own head, vines wrapped around your limbs protectively. Your right arm jolts forward without warning, the vines tugging it outwards, small white pellets surge out of the palm of your hand striking Muffet in the chest.

Muffet’s concentration on you stutters as your soul blooms red once more, able to move again Asriel allows you to walk around freely so he can focus on Muffet with his attention fixed on using your arms.

You glance up at Muffet’s pet, **HP: 1**

Without thinking you throw yourself in front of the spider, Asriel reacts by grasping the bone and redirecting it. Muffet watches you in shock.

“Y-You would risk your life for one of us?” She looks astonished as you continue to defend her pet.

“what the fuck do you think you’re doing brat, if you were smart then you would use this as an opportunity to kill Muffet instead of protecting the beast!” Sans bellows at you.

“No, I refuse to kill anyone.”

“Frisk, I don’t know if this is a good idea, it could turn on us any second!”

The spider scrambles away from Sans and quivers behind you, seeking protection, its fur glows and turns a rich shade of plum, patting you affectionately with its limbs it returns to Muffet.

“I don’t understand, we’re trying to kill you…I” Muffet looks bewildered.

You offer her **MERCY** , somewhat reluctantly she accepts it.

In your backpack you pull out one of the Spider Donuts that Toriel gave you for the journey, one of the remaining two food items left in your bag. You take a big bite of it, whatever the filling was it squirted out of the hole you left and stained your chin, you lift it up to the top of your head where Asriel was residing.

He pauses dubiously before eating the rest, you wince at the feeling of crumbs falling into your hair.

“And where did you get that dearie?” Sans temporarily forgotten, her voice now silky and dangerous.

“My Mom bought it from the spider stall in the Ruins.”

She frowns, “So not only is your family kind to spiders you would also protect one of us.”

Four of her hands reach up to cup her head, images flashing in her mind…

**“Oh my this has all been a big misunderstanding.”**

**“I thought you were someone that hated spiders.”**

**“You can come back her anytime and for no charge, I’ll even wrap you up and let you play with my pet.”**

**“That was fun, see you again.”**

Her form flickers like static on a faulty television screen, Her clothing is flooded with purple, her clothes seem more loose and comfortable.

“no! god damn it brat, your corruption has to stop!” Sans has his face turned towards you, only able to watch as he can’t free himself.

Muffet looks up at you, “I-I can’t believe I forgot you Frisk, after everything you did for us, I…” They turn their attention back to Sans, “Sans, what is happening?”

Sans grits his teeth, “let me down bitch!”

Muffet narrows all of her eyes and saunters forward, “Excuse me? What did you just call me?!”

You step towards Muffet and pull her away, your shoulder is clipped by a bone aimed at Muffet, **HP: 16/17**.

“You tried to harm my pet and this innocent human.” They hiss.

“heheh, innocent? hardly. besides weren’t you trying to kill them a minute ago?”

Muffet looks at you, pleading for you to explain.

“The timeline reset, we were all thrown back in time by a month or so, everyone lost their memories and feelings of love and compassion.”

Muffet just stares at you blankly, “Oh my, I’m not sure I understand. What’s wrong with Sans?”

Sans growls lowly, “there is nothing wrong with me! you’re all being deceived by this murderer!”

Muffet scowls at him, “I’m more inclined to believe the human considering it was you to assault me! Perhaps I should just leave you up there.” They gesture to the tendrils of web keeping Sans suspended in the air upside down.

You take a deep breath and tune out their arguing. Deciding it would be a good idea to make a **SAVE** point you concentrate your determination. _Hmm, my **HP** is now **17** at max, I’m close to the original amount now._

“Frisk, there are things I need to attend to, I will leave Sans to you.”  She binds Sans’ arms to his ribcage and scuttles away with her pet, presumably to heal them.

You are left with Sans glaring at both you and Asriel.

“so if it isn’t the former prince.” He spat, “the greatest traitor to monster kind, i remember the things you’ve done too, that power of that brat’s was once yours wasn’t it. Y o u ‘ r e  a  f i l t h y  m u r d e r e r  j u s t  l i k e  t h e m !

“It’s true that I have done terrible things in the past, I have no excuse but you can’t lay the same blame on Frisk. How on earth can you blame them for something you’ve seen a different version of them do in an alternate reality? You’re insane.”

“that kid has caused me nothing but pain, i am plagued by the memory of every one of their existences, who’s to say that they didn’t murder everyone then erase our memories of it like the other versions of them in the parallel worlds i see?”

Asriel shifts forward on your head, you can feel their vines clenching around you uncomfortably tight, “You have no proof that they did, and I trust them!”

“i won’t stop killing them, you can attempt to appeal to me as much as you want, i have no need for compassion, after seeing the way they killed papyrus for their naïve love and innocence i can clearly see that love is a weakness. all I need is **L O V E**. i am stronger than you. i can murder you again and again until you learn to never come back. Only then will there peace.”

Each word was like a stab wound to your heart despite the fact that he was now unable to physically attack you, Asriel can feel you recoil.

“I will never allow you to harm them!” Asriel descends from your head, stem causing them to crane forward, their face was contorted with rage, the protective look in their eyes, deadly.

A single white pellet forms in the palm of your hand, vines flex around your arm, dragging it outwards, palm out. _No! what was he doing? Sans only has **1 HP.**_

You try to pull your arm down, fighting the strength of Asriel’s vines, you weren’t strong enough.

“Asriel, you can’t!” You shout.

“If we do nothing he will just kill us again, I’m protecting you, just like I promised!”

Asriel forces your fingers to flex, the pellet fires out and strikes Sans in the forehead.

Bone cracks from the impact, the red light dying in his socket, his grin twists maliciously.

“i knew you were both  f u c k i n g  m u r d e r e r s.”

His body begins to disintegrate into dust before you, the webs on the ceiling no longer clinging to anything. Dust settles on your body. You can only stare in horror, paralysed.

**LV:2**


	19. Regrets and Reasons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We need back up,

“Frisk?” Asriel asks, his voice was quiet and hesitant as he looks up at your face, eyes screwed up with tears spurting down your cheeks.

“Frisk!” He says more firmly, “Say something!”

After what felt like an eternity you reply, “What do you want me to say?”

“Anything.”

Your eyes flash fully open and lock on his, Asriel is still wrapped around all of your limbs but he had his stem around your torso so he could crane his head up to meet your gaze.

“Do you want me to say I’m happy? Grateful? You made me kill one of my best friends.”

“Frisk look, we did everything we could. What more could we try to do to **SAVE** him, he’s beyond reason. I did us a favour by killing that iDiOt!”

You cringe at the menacing expression on his face; his face contorted into a demonic leer, Asriel feels your abrupt movement, after taking in your shocked expression guilt crosses his face.

“F-Flowey…” You whisper.

Asriel shakes his head repetitively, “No I didn’t mean it like that, I’m just so sick of him. I’m not like that anymore, you know that right?” His face turns to pleading.

You stiffly nod, “Even if it’s hard you can’t just kill them, if I took that approach then half the Underground would be dead, so many people have tried to kill me, even more have succeeded.”

Asriel squeezes you gently with his vines in the imitation of a hug, “I couldn’t stand to look at the fear on your face, you looked so in pain. It would be so much easier to just leave Sans dead and progress to Asgore, we all make sacrifices.”

“His life isn’t mine to sacrifice. Often taking the easiest choice will result in the cheapest victory.”

You close your eyes once again, focusing on the point in time just after **SAVING** Muffet, as you still stood in the same location as that point in time it was a lot easier to concentrate on.

“Frisk come on! You can’t go through all of that again, he’ll just kill you!”

**Your head fills with static, you can hear hysterical laughter.**

**Your eyes flash open, once again you stand in the meadow of flowers, the ones closest to you have withered, the golden tone leached from the petals. The sky is overcast; a strong breeze chills you but not as much as the laughter does.**

**“You really are a riot! Level Of ViolencE 2, does it feel good?”**

**You meet the eyes of Chara, their head rising up after being bent over double in hysterics; their shoulders still shake with the suppressed laughter.**

**“I didn’t kill him, that was Asriel.”**

**They grin up at you, “Your LOVE says otherwise, you consented to allow Asriel control of your body, not only did you become connected physically but your souls harmonised with one another. Even if Asriel pulled the trigger your body was the weapon that sent the bullet, a partnership if you will, his LOVE is your LOVE.”**

**“That isn’t fair, I tried to stop him, it was his magic, why should I be responsible for the repercussions?”**

**“Do you think you’re above consequences? I once made the decision to put my life in the hands of Asriel; I’m still paying for that mistake today.”**

**You feel uneasy as the wind rages in tandem with Chara’s mood, storm clouds gather above them.**

**They continue, “Maybe you were too hasty to reject my partnership, I could have protected you a lot more adequately than Asriel, although he seems to finally get the idea of cutting down those in your way, even with his compassion. I will offer you the chance one last time.”**

**“I have already said that I refuse to join you.”**

**They smirk at you, hidden knowledge glittering in their void like eyes, “I’m not offering now, when the time is right I will offer again…and you won’t refuse.”**

**You just look at them dubiously as the clearing before you shifts back into the familiar violet and black corridor, territory of Muffet.**

“…Frisk…why?” Asriel groans quietly.

You are startled by the presence of Muffet beside you, “Frisk, there are things I need to attend to; I will leave Sans to you.” Like last time they begin to bind his arms and they turn to leave.

“Muffet wait!”

They turn to face you again, “What is it dearie?”

“Could you make something a bit more permanent?”

A look of offense crosses her face, “That is some of my finest woven cloth; the magic I wove into that trap couldn’t be overcome by Sans.”

They disappear into the darkness; _I’m concerned that a single rope of thread isn’t going to hold him, even if it is magic._

You reluctantly walk towards Sans; hanging from the ceiling by tendrils of web wrapped around one foot, somehow prohibiting him from teleporting. His expression seemed to be wrestling between being pissed off and somewhat smug.

“you really are a freak huh? back to kill me again?” His grin mocks the distraught look on your face as you watch him with a guilty expression.

Asriel glares at him, “You’re lucky to even be alive Smiley Trashbag, if I had my way then we would be fortunate enough to never look upon your face again, as it is Frisk wants you to live.”

“oh is that so? and here i thought that this frisk was finally living up to the reputation of their other iterations, it was only a matter of time before they got a taste for violence.”

Your eyes begin to fill up with tears again, Sans’ grin shimmers before you.

“Shut up! Frisk didn’t do anything, I killed you…and I enjoyed it!” Asriel’s eyes become pits of ink, almost leaking down their face, a deranged smile spread wide.

Sans looks unfazed by Asriel, “even if they didn’t kill me that doesn’t excuse them for the massacre of thousands of monsters across billions of timelines and worlds.”

“Sans…I’m sorry…I should have tried harder…” You whisper, met only with a snort of disbelief.

“save your remorse and guilt for those dumb enough to buy your act, heheh i bet papyrus would be stupid enough to believe it, why don’t you go and off him next, save anyone else the effort.”

Your sadness turns to shock, then anger, “I can understand that in some twisted sense it is logical for you to resent me but your own brother…how can you be so blasé about him dying?”

Sans sockets become hollow pits, “i’ve seen him die so many times in my dreams of other timelines of memories i’m kinda desensitized to it. i have no problem with you killing them anymore, i  j u s t  w a n t  r e v e n g e  f o r  a l l  t h e  t i m e s  y o u  k i l l e d  m e .”

You back away in intimidation, and tug on Asriel’s stem signalling that you were leaving, “I don’t know what else to say to you, I’ll return later Sans.”

He scoffs at you and attempts to form a bone in front of you, from the strain on his face it looked as if it took a lot of effort to overcome Muffet’s magic trap, fortunately you had foreseen something like this happening and evaded the attack almost effortlessly, it lacked the momentum to hit you with enough force.

You walk away from the room, Sans calls out to you as you leave, “looks like you’re in quite the bind yourself, for once i can think clearly without all of that compassion shit, i have no qualms ending you, you will never change me.”

You continue to walk away until you’re out of his sight. You look down at Asriel.

“Never try to control me again without my consent.”

He shivers at your tone of voice, “It was wrong of me and for that I apologise, yet I am not sorry that I protected you, I would kill him again in a heartbeat to keep you safe.”

“I know, that’s what scares me.”

After walking for a while you reach the Riverperson, their voice calls out to you cheerfully:

“Care for a ride?”

“Snowdin.” You state curtly.

You feel resentment well up inside of you, **“Beware of false smiles.”** Despite being upset with yourself for not making the connection you were angry at the Riverperson, _does that mean that they knew all along, they never did anything to stop this from happening._

You lazily watch the water beneath you, no longer curling with steam from the heat of the surrounding magma, a deep, clear sapphire. You gaze down at your reflection, in the water you could see how empty your eyes were, _almost like **them.** It isn’t even worth returning to the surface anymore, after facing Asgore a second time I knew I could never do what had to be done to pass through the barrier, what do I do after all this is over? Will I still be welcome? _ You begin to think back to what lead you to Mt Ebott on that fateful day.

  _I couldn’t take it anymore, the way the other children in the orphanage looked at me when they found out what mother did to father, how possessive she was, it was unnatural. The other villagers blamed me for his death, **she** claimed that I had set the fire and run away before moving as far away as she could from the village. When the authorities found me I was placed in a certain kind of ‘Home’ an orphanage for ‘Troubled Teenagers’ even though I was barely a day above thirteen, stuck with eighteen year olds who actually had committed crimes. All because I rejected her obsession with my constant attention, because dad was divorcing her and taking me away from her insanity. The constant rejection of everyone else was too much, **her** final curse._

_Then I remembered my aunt on my father’s side, they lived in the Ebott region with my cousins, I hadn’t heard from them in years._ You picture the weather that day, constant streams of rain, lightning flashing down around you; the sky alight with arcs of static. _I didn’t know where about in Ebott they lived, I tried to find shelter in the storm, the mountain was full of ledges cut into the cliff, I just wanted somewhere safe to rest, so I kept climbing._ You feel the boat jolt in the water, it reminded you of the moment you reached the top, your foot slid, _so much mud from the rain, slickening the surface of the mountain top, then I fell, it’s funny really for a moment I didn’t care if I died or not._

You are pulled out of your brooding by the ringing voice of the Riverperson:

“Tra-la-la who is the greatest enemy?”

This time you weren’t going to dismiss their warning, your mind furiously chews over the meaning, _there’s no point asking them, last time they didn’t clarify it at all, who are they referring to? Sans? Asgore? Maybe even Chara?_

“I don’t suppose you care to elaborate?”

“Tra-la-la evil is subjective.”

You groan, _that makes even less sense, anyone would think that their enemy was evil before understanding their motives, that literally applies to anyone you can think of._

You check your phone briefly, only to find that it was broken from one of your fights, sighing you put it away again.

Asriel had been unsurprisingly silent throughout the journey, his vines no longer encompassed you’re entire body, he restricted himself to just your right arm and shoulder now; in light of recent events.

After stepping off the boat at Snowdin you are greeted by the welcoming atmosphere, cosy lights woven around the town, snow crunching softly under foot. You begin to make your way to Papyrus’ house, you remember what Undyne had said to you on the phone before entering the Judgement Hall, about waiting for them there, whatever they were doing to organize everyone was taking an awfully long time.       

You raise your hand to knock but the shattering of glass startles you, the window furthest from you had been smashed, a skeleton lays on the ground for a second before leaping up with boundless enthusiasm.

“HUMAN! I HAVE BEEN SENT TO COLLECT YOU; AS YOU WOULDN’T ANSWER YOUR PHONE, WE HAVE HAD A CHANGE OF PLAN. OF COURSE I HAVE SUCCEEDED IN MERE SECONDS TO CAPTURE YOU YET AGAIN, NYEH HEH HEH!”

“What would this plan happen to entail?” You enquire in confusion.

“UH…WELL…YOU SEE, WE HAVE YET TO COME UP WITH AN EFFECTIVE PLAN TO **SAVE** THE KING, AS OUR DISCUSSION HAD BEEN TAKING SUCH A LONG TIME I THE GREAT PAPYRUS ELECTED MYSELF TO RETRIEVE YOU.” He beams at you and leads you through the front door.

_Why didn’t he just walk through it to begin with?_

“My child!” A voice exclaims happily. Toriel stands with her arms outstretched, for a second you freeze, _déjà vu rearing its ugly head_ _. No stop it, they’re not all like that, Toriel won’t hurt me._

Fixing a slightly grim smile on your face you approach to hug her, the warmth of her fur fills you with comfort, the tension in your leaves as you relax into the hug realising they had no ill intentions.

“Are you alright my child? You seem uneasy dear.” They reach out a paw to ruffle Asriel’s petals to which he leans into.

“We’re okay Mom, a lot of things have happened since we last talked.”

Papyrus runs forward to join in the hug, his jaw was a bit too close to your ear as he shouted enthusiastically, “FRISK HAS MANAGED TO **SAVE** SO MANY PEOPLE, OF COURSE WITH MY WONDERFUL HELP.”

After being released from the hug you wander into the living room and Papyrus walks back outside, the sight before you astonished you, the majority of the residents of Snowdin were crammed into the room, loud footsteps above your head indicated there were more upstairs.

“H-Hey Frisk, everyone else is on their way, s-soon we can hold a meeting about how to approach the k-king, I feel kind of bad, isn’t this practically t-treason?” Alphys stands behind you.

“Wait, you’re all coming?” You ask in astonishment.

“Of c-course.” They state stubbornly.

“Where’s Undyne?”

She pauses for a second in thought, “I think that Papyrus sent her to find Sans, he wasn’t answering his phone.”

Your heart begins to beat rapidly in your chest, _wait, none of them know about Sans!_

You spin around and sprint of the house.

“Frisk, You don’t think she…” Asriel whispers.

You see Papyrus in the distance, your legs scream in protest, hurting from all the running you did through Hotlands, Nevertheless you stay determined, running after his figure while screaming his name.

When you finally reach him you collapse to your knees, he spins around when he registers your shouting.

“HUMAN, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?”

You can barely get your words out, chest burning, each attempt resulted in a breathless pant. You ignore the feeling of the ice seeping into your clothing.

Finally you manage to stutter out a name, “…S-Sans-s…”

Papyrus gazes down at you in confusion and offers you a hand, you accept it and feel yourself being pulled to your feet.

“ARE YOU SURE YOU ARE FEELING ALRIGHT HUMAN? YOU SEEM TO BE MISTAKING ME FOR MY BROTHER.”

You shake your head rapidly, denying his assumption. Taking deep even breaths you try again.

“W-Where…is S-Sans..?”

“OH I SENT UNDYNE TO GET HIM, DIDN’T ALPHYS TELL YOU?”

_No no no no._

“We’re…in danger, Papyrus…there’s something…I have to tell you about Sans…”

He cocks his head to the side in confusion.

“You need to call Undyne now, tell her to get as far away from him as she can.” Asriel speaks rapidly.

“I DON’T UNDERSTAND!”

You begin to launch into an explanation but a flash of red in the corner of your eye catches your eye, turning towards it quickly.

Sans stands before you in the snow, eye socket alight with hatred, a blaze surging like an erupting volcano. Most shockingly was what he was doing, Undyne was kneeling down in front of him, a sharp bone held to her throat and an arm locked around her torso and neck.

“what did i tell ya before kid, it’s rude to talk about those who are listening.”

Papyrus’ sockets widen in shock as he takes in the appearance of Undyne, subdued before him while verminously glaring at Sans.

“PAPYRUS, RUN, get out of HERE!” She yells before the bone is pushed into her throat harder, cutting her off.

Papyrus makes no indication of moving, rooted to the spot in shock.

“BROTHER, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who is the greatest enemy that you will have to face?


	20. Willing Sacrifices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lets see if anyone else can knock sense into Sans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all of your comments and kudos, they really make my day XD
> 
> Do any of you go and play other RPGs and feel guilty when you gain LV and EXP because of Undertale?

Sans’ expression was one of glee, contrasting horribly with his brothers’ frozen terror and betrayal. Undyne had finally resigned to being still, grudgingly remaining in her forced position on the ground to avoid inciting his wrath.

“watsup? something wrong?” His grin widens; becoming significantly more threatening.

Papyrus edges forward, before changing his mind when he took in the sight of a bone being pressed into Undyne’s throat, harsher and more threatening whenever he drew closer.

“BROTHER…I DON’T UNDERSTAND…WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS? THAT’S UNDYNE OUR FRIEND!”

“they’re no friend of mine; i don’t need friends…or family for that matter.”

You look back at Papyrus to gauge his reaction, his sockets widen and tears begin to fill them, this hand reaches up to fiddle with the end of his scarf anxiously.

“YOU DON’T REALLY MEAN THAT…DO YOU…BROTHER…I-”

“don’t call me that, as if i would ever want to be your brother. the shit i’ve had to put up with from you for years was unbearable.” His voice warps slightly as he mimics a higher tone, “sans pick your socks up! sans stop being lazy! sans stop drinking at grillby’s!” His voice deepens once again, “well i’ve had enough of it. you have no idea what it’s like for me, there is no point doing anything when you know it could very well amount to nothing, you would think i’d need a drink after everything i’ve seen. as for being lazy, do you even know how many jobs i have, it’s no wonder i’m always exhausted, i worked so hard to support us while you’re off playing pretend knights with this bitch.” He tugs on Undyne’s bedraggled hair.

The heartbroken look on Papyrus’ face was painful, his stature was slumped instead of standing regal, his ribs seemed to heave heavily as if they were fighting some invisible force. “I-I’M A TERRIBLE BROTHER…I WISHED YOU HAD TOLD ME…I HAD NO IDEA…THAT’S NO EXCUSE IS IT? I-I PLEASE TELL ME WHAT I CAN DO TO MAKE THIS BETTER…” He pleaded.

“it’s already too late, i’m so sick of all of this forgiveness crap. maybe if you weren’t so weak and pathetic you wouldn’t need everyone to baby you, what grown adult needs a bedtime story?”

You stand in front of Papyrus, “Leave him alone! I thought I was the one you hated and wanted to kill, leave Papyrus out of this.”

They glance over at you, the flames in their one socket rose in height, responding as if threatened. “oh i do, i despise your very existence, it’s just that i’ve had so much resentment building up in me for sooo long, it feels good not censoring my thoughts. letting you all know what i think of you.”

His arm is suddenly thrown off of Undyne, an aqua spear turning the long narrow bone at her throat into dust; slamming her back into him forcefully he sprawls onto the floor. She leaps up quickly, dashing forward to stand with you and Papyrus.

“WHAT THE HELL SANS! Why the FUCK are you trying to kill me?!” Undyne bellows, her lip curled into an ugly sneer, arms raised out with another spear ready.

While maintaining his position on the ground, he summons a Gaster Blaster; luckily Undyne’s lightning reflexes allow her to leap out of the way at a moment’s notice.

“WHAT IS THAT?! You’ve never done that before! You mean you’ve been hiding this kind of magic all along?!”

Sans disappears, you look around quickly for him, you were too slow, he suddenly fazes into existence behind Undyne.

“Look out Undyne!” Asriel yells.

Whirling around she takes a bone to the face, even though the impact dealt 1 damage the longer it remained near her the more damage it inflicted.

“looks like you’re not blameless either, huh captain. how many kids have ya killed? that’s karmic retribution; attacks deal more damage depending on your **LOVE** , your sins. looks like you’re as screwed up as me.”

She furiously swipes a spear at him, only for him to reappear in front of her again, “I’m NOTHING like YOU, there was a reason that I did those things, not all humans that fall down here are innocent.” They pause and sigh, “Even if some were, I was doing my duty, to my king and fellow monsters, maintaining their hopes and dreams. What you’re doing has no purpose, Frisk doesn’t deserve our hatred.”

They stop attacking and merely side step each lunge casually as if the fight was a choreographed dance. “maybe they’re not as innocent as you think, m a y b e  t h e y ‘ r e  a  p s y c h o p a t h.”

“SANS PLEASE STOP THIS, THEY HAVE NEVER HURT YOU BEFORE, LET’S JUST SIT DOWN AND TALK ABOUT IT.”

Their head swivels around to Papyrus, sockets empty from threatening Undyne, “you really think that filth you pass of as spaghetti will fix anything? i’m not gonna sit down and talk to anyone, now is the time to act, for so long i’ve sat back and watched, not anymore.”

“U-Undyne, what’s going on?”

“Oh my, are you under attack?”

Toriel and Alphys had arrived, their footsteps had gone unnoticed from the concentration you all held on the battle.

Sans makes a sudden lunge for you, A fire ball hurls towards the attack aimed at you.

“Sans the Skeleton, you would dare attempt to hurt my children!”

The wrath of an enraged mother stands before him, arms raised out, a flurry of fire encasing them. The snow melted from the very touch of her feet on the ground, so hot was her fury.

Their grin flickers uneasily, “really tori, i didn’t think you knew?”

“Knew what?” She demands dangerously.

“that weed is your lil’ Asriel.”

A ball of fire is hurled towards him, he immediately ducks out of the way, sadistic grin back full force.

“How dare you! You would claim to be my friend after all of the time we spent together and you would mock me for my loss! What is wrong with you?”

“oh?” he pauses, pretending to look surprised, “so they never told you then.”

Toriel turns to you and Asriel, confusion etched into her worried brow, “My children, what does he mean?”

You silently plead with Asriel to tell her, _this is far from the ideal time to bring something like this up._

“H-Howdy Mom…It’s me…your son…Asriel Dreemurr.”

Toriel stumbles back, shaking her head, “No, no, you’re dead…you can’t be…how?” Unshed tears glistening in her eyes. “Stop lying to me!”

You can feel Asriel trembling on your shoulder while Sans holds a smug look on his face.

“Mom, it’s really me…I can prove it, remember that time when you tried making me dress up as a character from Mew Mew Kissy Cutie, or when you made me promise not tell Dad that your recipe for Cinnamon Butterscotch Pie wasn’t really a family recipe, you really found it in the Garbage Dump, or what about when Dad had a comedy marathon so he could understand the concept of ‘puns’ or…”

Toriel rushes forward to enclose you and Asriel in a hug, “Why, why didn’t you tell me? You were alive all this time…all this time I blamed myself, how did this happen to you?”

You peer over Toriel’s shoulder at Alphys, nervously wringing her hands.

“Alphys brought me back to life, if it wasn’t for her I would be dead, my dust was scattered across the golden flowers, this is what I became.”

“I-I um, I...I’m so sorry, I messed up so badly and I hurt so many people and I’m really disgusting I’m-”

“Alphys, you saved my child from death. There is nothing I could ever do to repay that.”

A loud blast in the air startles everyone, all attention drawn back to Sans.

“i suppose we’re all good people now, let’s forget the fact that alphys experimented on your son, or the fact that in the last timeline he turned into some kinda Lovecraftian beast and would have attempted to kill everyone.”

“Sans I’ve had enough of this, what is your problem with my children?!” She stands before you both protectively.

He shoves his hands in his pockets casually while sending a wave of bones forward at Toriel.

“oh, i don’t know, maybe the fact that they’re both time manipulating killers.”

“I’ve already told you that I’ve never killed anyone, what more do you want from me?” you shout.

_I’m so tired of this, after all of the trouble I went through to help him and bring him back from the dead, even then…I don’t understand why he’s blaming me, surely I haven’t been completely terrible in every other parallel world, even if I have I am not the same person as they were, I never did any of those things. Why is he being so irrational?_

“it’s only a matter of time before you do it, every single bloody timeline you’ve killed someone, you became too curious for your own good and reset. last time you were disrupted by this glitch, i’m certain that even if you did manage to somehow free us from the barrier you would have reset anyway. people like you can never be satisfied.”

“SANS EVEN THOUGH I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU MEAN I’M SURE FRISK WOULD NEVER DO ANYTHING LIKE THAT, THEY’RE OUR FRIEND, I BELIEVE IN THEM…JUST LIKE I BELIEVE IN YOU!”

“shut it!” He snarls at Papyrus, “misplacing your trust just gets you killed, betrayed, you really shouldn’t believe in anything but your own power.”

The ground beneath you trembles, Undyne reacts faster than you do, pulling you up onto her shoulders like before, as the bones surge out of the ground she jumps up and clings to the closest tree. Toriel incinerates them rendering the ground safe to return to.

“I don’t know what the Fuc-Fudge,” correcting herself at the pointed look from Toriel, “you’re doing Sans, I get it if you need **SAVING** , but what could possibly have happened to make you hate the punk this much? I may not be the smartest person but this talk of timelines makes no sense, we can hardly claim to be saints with the things we’ve done, the Frisk we know right before us is our friend, they aren’t going to hurt us!”

One of the blasts from the floating skulls hits Undyne in her shoulder, wincing in pain she drops you into the snow, landing abruptly you let out a groan.

“L-leave Undyne a-alone Sans!” Alphys stutters, her face fixed, the bravery radiating from her was much more powerful than the daily confidence that Undyne would display.

“heh, you’re right, i should dispose with the real problem, t h e  a n o m a l y .” Their sockets endless pits of hatred, “i’ve seen what you’re capable of, as long as you live everyone is in danger, you’re life is an abomination. originally in the last timeline i was only capable of remembering your **LOADS** from **SAVE** points.” Your soul pulses in front of you, Asriel wraps a vine around an oncoming taking the damage for you. “now it’s different, in this timeline after talking with toriel i remembered the reset, the pain was incredible.” Their brow bone drips with sweat from all of the effort they have to put in to fend off Toriel and Undyne, flames raging around you and spears encircling him. “it was like every single memory from every version of me was thrown in a blender, all the other timelines, i saw all of the things you’ve done, to think that i had ever befriended you…”

“If there really are that many iterations that you’ve seen of me then surely not all of them are bad Sans! You can’t say that this is the only time I’ve ever been a pacifist!”

“sorry brat, i have no recollections of such a thing, you must be faking your nice act, you’ve never spared us all before. there’s no way that i believe you, i have quite literally merged with every iteration of myself that exists, i of all people would know, the number of times i’ve had to fight you...”

Sans teleports again, suddenly appearing behind you, something sharp is stabbed into your abdomen, Toriel reacts first, sending fire towards him, only for him to reappear sat in a tree across from everyone.

You begin to cough, the insistent pulsing of agony, burning through your body, much hotter than any of Toriel’s flames, _oh God, I don’t want to have to **LOAD** again, we’ll go all the way back to Muffet._

Asriel closes his eyes in concentration, this time small green pellets appear in front of him, they had a slight luminescent glow to them as they drifted towards your soul, you were filled with the sensation of peace, of love.

“Behold!” They start in a dramatic voice, “My friendliness pellets!” Their face holds a wry expression at the irony of the situation.

_Why…just why did he have to call them that, granted the name is more apt for this type of magic…_

The wound in your abdomen begins to seal up, much to Sans disgust.

“you can never do anything for yourself can you, if they knew what you were really like they wouldn’t hesitate to k i l l  y o u  w h e r e  y o u  s t a n d.”

“Sans, looking at this from a logical perspective, can you state with absolute 100% certainty that you remember every timeline?” You ask.

“S-Sans, if what t-they say is true then what d-data do you have to back up this confirmation, y-you wouldn’t know if a memory was a-absent or not…” Alphys adds.

“you have no idea what this feels like, you’re all so ignorant.”

“SANS, IF YOUR REASON OF DOING THIS IS BECAUSE YOU FEAR FOR EVERYONE’S FUTURE BEING TAKEN AWAY THEN SURELY THERE MUST STILL BE SOME GOOD IN YOU!”

“nah, i’m bad to the bone, i don’t give fuck about redemption, i couldn’t care less if the brat and the weed killed any of you, i’m just so sick of their existence, they ruined my life, many of my lives. i won’t allow them the chance to do it again, not when compared to their past; killing is all the other versions of them ever did.”

“You are the biggest walking contradiction there is Sans. You claim that deals in the past don’t matter even when they involve the same iterations of us, yet the lives of other iteration’s actions in parallel worlds cause you to condemn them. You have single-handedly killed more of us in this timeline and Frisk hasn’t harmed anyone once, even with the entire Underground despising them. I bet there were iterations of you even worse than they ever could be! You’re a bloody hypocrite!” Asriel sways above your shoulders while ranting at Sans.

_I just can’t, if I try to shout at them then they’ll hate me even more, it’s best that I accept any treatment I'm given. I’m lucky that this many monsters even care about me, I_ _deserve being treated this way, maybe I am responsible for these timelines they are talking about, there has to be a connection between them._

“you understand nothing. i will relish in your deaths.”

You step away from your mother and friends protection, stepping closer to Sans reluctantly, “Maybe. It’s for the best, if I didn’t exist then time won’t reset ever again, I have too much determination, it’s unnatural…”

Sans face twists into delight, “that’s right brat, you should accept death for your atrocities, maybe i’ll even be merciful and make it quick.”

“My child, what are you doing?” Toriel calls out in panic, trying to reach you.

Sans sends his Gaster Blasters to distract them, encouraging you to step closer, Asriel writhes against your shoulder desperately, “Don’t listen to him Frisk, he’s insane, he’s lying to you!”

_Haha, this reminds me of the time that I gave up for Asriel, the very thing that started this. Maybe this time I won’t come back, clearly my existence is the problem, looks like my Mom was right about the fact that I shouldn’t exist…_

You shut your eyes, waiting for the blow, the sound of a Gaster Blaster charging up resounds in your head.

It never came.

Your eyes flutter open in confusion, a familiar red scarf flickers in the wind, brushing against your face.

Before you stands Papyrus.

“Papyrus?” You whisper, walking around him hesitantly, his armour was charred across his chest, he weakly grips his scarf, eye sockets locked with his brother.

“SANS, BROTHER…I KNOW THIS ISN’T THE REAL YOU, YOU CAN BE A LITTLE BETTER, EVEN IF YOU DON’T THINK SO. I WILL ALWAYS BELIEVE IN YOU…” They make a dry wheezing sound as their body crumples to the ground. “I-I…I LOVE Y-”

All that’s left is a pile of dust, mingling with the icy crystals of snow and a tattered red scarf.

You look up at Sans, stood immobile.

“paps?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't even make myself do anything other than a pacifist run in Undertale, here i am killing them off in Fanfiction.


	21. Avec Amour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I want to hug Frisk, no kid needs this emotional pain.   
> I'm not very good at writing action scenes so I apologise for this one and the last.

You begin to stumble backwards at Sans’ approach, _how, how could I have let this happen? Hah, even know I still can’t die properly, Asriel, Papyrus…I’m not worth dying for._

Sans kneels down in front of the pile of dust, phalanges shakily reaching out to brush the top layer, snagging on the scarf; so vivid amongst the white yet it was tainted. He brings the scarf up to his face and buries his face in it, deep uneven breaths are taken, although his face was obscured you could still notice that his shoulders were trembling.

“Sans?” You say quietly.

Everyone else had remained silent in shock, Undyne was barley restraining her rage to lash out at Sans, Alphys had one had tightly wrapped around hers. Toriel held one hand to her mouth, eyes stretched wide in horror.

Eventually he looks up at you, sockets empty and cold before a spark ignites in one of them, flames force themselves out of the socket, surging relentlessly, similar flames began to be expended from his body. He threw his head back and screamed in rage, his malleable sockets squeeze shut. An inferno of red flames erupts from him, you immediately step back to avoid being caught in the blast.

After the flames die down he stands, gaze locked on you.

“t-this is your fault twerp, y-you made me k-kill him.”

The fury was almost tangible, what was more alarming was the evident grief on his face, much more potent than that which you had witnessed the time Chara had shown you the Judgement Hall battle in a genocidal timeline. His grin was as present as ever, something akin to madness glittered in his burning socket.

_He’s right, Papyrus didn’t deserve that, none of them do. **Maybe you should give up?**_ A part of you thought, _I’m so confused, my existence has caused so many problems but whenever I attempt to give up the situation becomes worse, Asriel created this alternate timeline by absorbing my soul, Papyrus…he…_

“Frisk don’t you dare give up! None of us want that, would you allow anyone’s sacrifice to be in vain.” Asriel cries out, his vines begin to coil around your torso and limbs, physically restraining you from approaching Sans. “I know I said I wouldn’t do this to you again without your permission but I made a more important promise, to keep you safe!”

“why won’t you just die!” A larger Gaster Blaster than you had previously seen had been summoned, charging up another blast. “if you had never fallen down here in any timeline we would all be happy, we’re better off without you. it’s because of you my brother is dead!”

Asriel snarls in rage, a cloud of white pellets appear and streak towards Sans, breaking his concentration so the Gaster Blaster dissipates, forced to dodge out of the way he glares at the sudden attack.

“What the fuck is wrong with you Sans? You murdered Papyrus not us, I thought you disowned him too, now he’s dead he’s suddenly you’re brother again. Guess who the d i r t y  b r o t h e r  k i l l e r  is now!”

A wave of bones are hurled at you in a horizontal line, if Asriel hadn’t have forced you to bend backwards to avoid it then you would have most certainly have been injured.

“shut the fuck up weed, it wasn’t my fault, i didn’t try to kill him, he got in the way. i guess now i have to avenge him in this timeline too.”

“Are you even listening to yourself, you said you couldn’t care less if he died, you said we might as well ‘off him’ before. And here you stand covered in his dust, accusing us. You’re the murderer here.”

A volley of spears are hurled at Sans, he barely manages to avoid the last one aimed for his head, resorting to blink in and out of existence.

“YOU LITTLE SHIT! Papyrus was your brother, he believed in you until the end, I’m sick of trying to **SAVE** you, maybe some people are beyond **SAVING** , what you’ve done, you can never come back from!” Undyne roared.

Toriel stares down at the dust clinging to his coat, the scarf he had decided to wind around his cervical vertebrae. “How could you do this to your own family Sans? He loved you.”

“stop blaming me!” he yells, Gaster Blasters circle him and send beams of light out in spirals.

_Why are they mad at him? If only I had been a better friend I would have noticed he wasn’t right from the beginning. If I was better then I wouldn’t have caused my friends to lose so much, to sacrifice so much for one pathetic human…if I was better…._

You were pulled out of your self-destructive thoughts by the frantic jolting of your body, being forced from left to right, _why does Asriel bother, I’m not worth saving from Sans._

You watch him carefully, resuming partial control of your body to Asriel’s relief, whenever he drew too close vines reached out to grab at him, receding when he fled. Sans attempts to teleport behind you only for Asriel to anticipate the attack, his vines gain purchase on his coat clad arms. With barely a moments warning he transfers himself to Sans, his vines slowly winding around his body, all while Sans bucks and jerks.

He desperately attempted to rip Asriel off of him, only for him to lose control of his own arms, the vines were interwoven throughout the entire frame of his body, some even cling to his mandible. His body is held immobile by the unrelenting grasp he is held in.

“I could crush you now Sans.” Asriel hisses menacingly with his head beside Sans’ skull, “Think of how painful it would be, internally breaking into pieces, splintered until you are rendered dust, just like you’re undeserving brother. “

Undyne stalks forward with a spear, poised to skewer him, grasping her wrist to deter her you attempt to reason, “No Undyne, we can’t. No matter what he’s done it isn’t entirely his fault, he isn’t himself.”

“He needs to DIE, USELESS MURDERER!” She screams at him more than answering your question.

You cautiously walk up to Sans, overgrown with vines, paralysing him to the point where his magic was restricted.

“I’m not saying that I want forgiveness from you, I know I am responsible for Papyrus’ death, I can even understand why my existence is a risk if you have a pretty horrific contrast from past iterations, even still before you judge me let me repeat some words to you that you once said to me.” You pause, taking a deep breath, trying to recall the words that you needed.

“Look inside yourself. Have you really done the right thing? And, considering what you've done... What will you do now? Take a moment to think about this…all that's important is that you were honest with yourself.”

The scarlet flame in Sans’ eye flickers, he attempts to speak but the vines were disrupting him, you gesture for Asriel to remove the pressure from him.

“what does it matter now? i was naïve then to the resets, your atrocities. you can’t just turn my words against me. i did what i had to do, i would have succeeded too had papyrus not been an idiot.”

You shake your head in disapproval, “Your thinking with your head, not your heart. You have shown regret that Papyrus died but you are thinking about it the wrong way, do you have no remorse for your own part in his death, it was your attack that killed him…even if it was my fault that he stood there…”

“i have nothing to feel guilty for, you said it yourself, you’re the one to blame, as long as i kill you and continuously end you until you stop trying then his death won’t be in vain. besides, aren’t you just going to **RELOAD** again?”                  

Swallowing deeply you lock eyes with him, “What if I didn’t? What if I decided to leave him dead, what then? His death would be forever on your conscience.”

You can see him attempt to shift towards you before moaning in pain at the tightening on his ribs, “you wouldn’t though, you wouldn’t leave him dead.”

A glint appears in your eye, “Really? What makes you so certain?”

“because you’re a useless wimp who wouldn’t ever let anyone die, for fuck sake you brought me back to life, of course you’re gonna bring him back, right?” On the last word his voice breaks slightly.

“I thought I was an emotionless psychopath who killed for fun, who would keep resetting over and over again out of twisted curiosity. I thought that I was inevitably going to kill everyone anyway like the others. So what am I Sans, coward or killer?”

His face twists into a look of pure hatred, “i don’t fucking know! just shut up already, stop making me doubt myself, you’re trying to get into my head so you can betray me, i can’t trust anyone!”

“What about your brother, didn’t you trust him?”

“he didn’t understand anything, i resented his permanent state of happiness and ignorance, i practically raised him. i had no childhood after our father fucking died on us!”

You shake your head sadly, “Why bother raising someone you don’t care about, what kept you going through all the pain and apathy, the one thing that kept you alive?”

His shoulders begin to shake, “papyrus…” He croaked out eventually.

“What do you have left to live for now?”

His face keeps twitching, the flame in his eye grew and shrunk rapidly.

“no! stop it, i don’t want to think about it!”

You rest a hand gently on his trembling shoulder; to which he violently flinched as if you had struck him.

“Do you remember when Papyrus brought me on a date, you came out of your room playing the trombone after the dog stole his bones, or what about the time we solved puzzles together and you left me a wordsearch without a pen, Papyrus had so much fun with his mazes, his empathy was unrivalled, he even worried about how dangerous the bridge was. He only nagged you about your socks because he was worried about how unresponsive you were, he made you work hard because he didn’t want to see you descend into complete apathy, at least he still had you by his side. He was concerned about you keeping your jobs, he didn’t want to see you constantly in Grillby’s, drinking away your sorrows. Papyrus cared for you.”

You eventually finish, silence had fallen on the clearing all around, Sans had stop breathing heavily, your throat felt so dry from talking for so long. _Was it my place to say those things? Who am I kidding, I can’t do anything right…what was I thinking…_

You’re startled by the sound of sobbing from in front of you, the sounds were tortured and chocked up, uttered so quietly piercing the silence woven by your previous reasoning. Sans sockets are welded shut, tears trickle from the corners. Asriel hesitates, unsure whether to maintain his grip on him.

“please bring him back frisk…i-i can’t do this…i need paps…” His plea is so heartfelt, despite all of the mistrust he had built from his deception you were unable to doubt the sentiment behind it.

“Sans, what is Papyrus to you?”

Another muffled cry resounds, “my bro…my only family, i-i killed him…oh god…why…what’s wrong with me?”

“It wasn’t just your fault Sans…I’m equally to blame…”

“you weren’t the one to murder him…i-i’m disgusting…frisk please i can’t live without paps…i messed up so badly…how could i forget the things i held in the highest importance…”

Sans eye sockets snap open, a steady blue glow radiates from one, the most welcoming sight you had ever seen.

_What if **RELOADING** causes him to relapse again?_ You wonder worriedly, _I have to take that chance, I can’t let anyone die._

You close your eyes, visualising the last **SAVE** point, focusing on the purple corridors outside of MTT Hotel. The darkness caused by your closed eyes seems to grow, a wave of nausea hits you. Your eyes flicker open again greeted by the sight of Sans strung up by webs.

 “Frisk, there are things I need to attend to; I will leave Sans to you.” Muffet’s cheerful voice calls out.

You lock your eyes on Sans, his sockets carry calm white pinpricks, one evolves into the azure flames, steadily gazing back at you in acknowledgement.

Waiting for Muffet to leave, you step closer to him, Asriel once again resides on your person, enclosing your limbs with vines whilst allowing you independent mobility.

“Sans…are you…”

He sways softly from the web, tears prickling in his sockets, “oh god kiddo, what have i done to you?”

You freeze in shock, “What do you mean Sans, I deserve everything you said to me and more. I even witnessed one of those genocide timelines before in a dream, if I truly did all of those things in other parallel worlds it’s no wonder you hate me, like you said I am connected to them someh-”

“frisk, please don’t say that, i was so wrong…oh god was i wrong. i was missing so many of my memories, when my conscience merged with the ‘me’s’  from other timelines for some reason i only had access to their most terrible memories, i couldn’t even recall the good aspects of my life from my own timeline.”

You look at him with uncertainty, “That doesn’t excuse anything though, an iteration of me still did those things.”

“oh shit bucko, i really messed you up din’t i, please forget the things i said to you, i wasn’t thinking clearly. now i have my good memories back i can remember all the positive feelings i have ever held,” Your expression hadn’t changed throughout his defence of you, his brow creases in concern, “seriously kid, i now have memories of all of the good timelines, you’re not some relentless killer throughout the entirety of time, you’re not even responsible for what other iterations of you did, i was being irrational, i thought you would turn out like them, i was scared.”

_I-I don’t know anymore, even if he claims that I’m not responsible for those other deaths in other parallel worlds that doesn’t excuse the mistakes I’ve actually made. Because of me Asriel has died, Papyrus has died, I’m responsible for their deaths in this timeline, I caused so much mental and emotional turmoil to every monster in the Underground, all because I couldn’t believe in my friends like they believed in me when I fought Asriel, I’m still a terrible person._ You fix a convincing smile on your face.

“It’s okay Frisk, it’s over now. Soon everything will be back to normal.” Asriel encourages.

“Asriel, let’s get Sans home, to his brother.”

Asriel smiles back at you and fires white pellets at the web suspending Sans in the air, the rope of web snaps and Sans goes hurtling down to the ground, at the last second possible he teleports.

You feel arms wrap themselves around your back, you violently flinch at the sensation, _oh shit, shit, I was wrong he’s going to kill me again…_

Sans turns you around to face him, your eyes open hesitantly, you look up into a face riddled with grief and guilt, Sans had noticed your very obvious cringe of terror.

“i swear i’ll fix this kid, you deserve better.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yey, Sans is back! Now they're all gonna march of to Asgore and they'll all live happily ever after, or will they?


	22. Blame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well...no one dies, that's a plus, right?

You were unsure what so say to one another, _even if things are ‘alright’ between us now, talking to him is still awkward, is it strange that I became accustom to him trying to kill me?_

You shuffle through Hotlands, one of your hands is stretched across your chest to clutch at Asriel’s vines, they provided a comforting sensation, the texture was rough increasing the friction and grip they held on you, yet warm, the weight reminded you that you weren’t alone.

A few times Sans turns towards you hesitantly, his jaw opened and shut a few times as if he was attempting to speak to you before thinking better of it. You would catch him watching you constantly as you walked, you tried to keep your eyes ahead but the feeling of him watching you made you uneasy.

_What if he still hates me? Even if he claims none of this was my fault he doesn’t know how this timeline reset, only that Asriel and I are associated with it. It would make sense if they still hated me, his own brother threw himself in the way of an attack meant for me, I know he regrets killing him but if I wasn’t so useless it would never have happened. Sans will have to live with the memory of killing Papyrus, even though he is now alive, even if no one else remembers…and it’s all my fault._

Eventually, as if he had been working up the courage Sans shattered the silence.

“uh, hey kiddo…do you wanna take a shortcut back to Snowdin?”

His sockets had been filled with the gentle white pinpricks, yet at the mention of using his magic to form a shortcut one socket gained a bluish hue. You stop walking, your joints locking at the sight of it. Sans frowns at your response before looking resignedly guilty.

“it’s okay if you don’t want to, a lazybones like me could do with the exercise.” He smiles expectantly at you.

You nod and attempt to smile back weakly in acknowledgement of his half-hearted joke; you reach the Riverperson’s boat and glance at Sans who shrugs in response and gestures for you to get in. _I need to stop being such an idiot, what’s wrong with me? When Sans fought me his magic was red, so why does the slightest hint of magic make my heart beat faster, my palms sweat? He’s only just forgiven me; I don’t need to give him anymore reasons to dislike me._

All throughout the journey Asriel had shot you worried glances but seemed reluctant to broach the subject bothering you.

“Care for a ride?” The Riverperson calls.

Sans grunts the location under his breath, they seemed to hear him and the boat began to move. _I wonder what useless advice they’ll give me this time. What was it last time? **“Who is the greatest enemy?”** Well Sans is definitely the hardest person I’ve fought, if anything is harder than that I’m done for._

“Tra-la-la The Angel will fall.”

_What? As in that prophecy? Does that mean someone else is going to come, or is it someone I know? **“There is a prophecy.** **The Angel... The One Who Has Seen The Surface... They will return. And the underground will go empty.”**_ The words echo dully in your head.

Sans cocks his head to the side curiously, you can see his mind going over the implication of the words, _as he has been down here a lot longer he would be more acquainted with the prophecy than me._

You meet Sans gaze and look at him inquiringly when you notice he has his sockets now fixed on you.

“sorry, i just thought that you were maybe the angel, cuz you’ve seen the surface an all, plus you’ve returned from a reset. that doesn’t make sense though, you already fell, they phrased it in the future tense, so they haven’t fallen yet.”

“I don’t have a clue; no one else fell into the Underground last time.” You respond quietly, your line of sight drifts off into the calming waters beneath, the rocking of the boat gave you a sense of comfort, the repetition was soothing.

You turn your head to find that Asriel was leaning his head against your neck; the grip on you had slackened, a gentle snoring sound was emitted from them bringing a smile to your face. _They deserve to rest after everything I’ve put them through, I just wanted to give up but they forced me to continue dodging Sans, they deserve a better sibling than me._

The boat grinds to a halt, as you step off you trip over the edge of the boat, flying straight into Sans, on instinct he catches you with a surprised look on your face. The feel of his hands resting on your shoulder makes you stiffen. **“Get dunked on.”** The cold worlds ring in your head.

“jeez kid, you’ve had more trips than i’ve had visits to grillby’s.”

You force yourself to laugh, “I didn’t fall, the ground looked like it needed a hug.” You improvise.

“sure, keep telling yourself that.” Soft chuckles erupt from him.

He finally releases you to your immediate relief.

You make your way to Sans and Papyrus’ house, met with the same sound of shattering glass as last time.

“HUMAN! I HAVE BEEN SENT TO COLLECT YOU; AS YOU WOULDN’T ANSWER YOUR PHONE, WE HAVE HAD A CHANGE OF PLAN. OF COURSE I HAVE SUCCEEDED IN MERE SECONDS TO CAPTURE YOU YET AGAIN, NYEH HEH HEH!” Papyrus immediately leaps up from the ground where they had sprung from the window, their eyes focus on Sans and he scowls, “LAZYBONES, IF YOU HAD BEEN HERE SOONER THEN I WOULDN’T HAVE HAD TO SEND UNDYNE TO FIND YOU, HONESTLY SANS!”

Sans gives Papyrus a shit-eating grin, “what can i say, i’m bone idle.”

Papyrus throws his hands in the air dramatically in distress, “WHY MUST SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME PUT UP WITH THOSE FOUL PUNS?? THE BANE OF MY EXISTANCE!”

Asriel groans at your side, stirring into consciousness from the loud screeching of Papyrus, his head rises slowly as he looks around, disorientated by the change in scenery.

For a moment Sans stares at him with a strangely melancholy expression behind his smile, he approaches and hugs Papyrus tenderly, much to the confusion of Papyrus. He immediately wraps his long arms around him in reciprocation, “UH…BROTHER…ARE YOU ALRIGHT? NOT THAT I’M COMPLAINING BUT YOU RARELY DEMONSTRATE THIS LEVEL OF AFFECTION.” Concern becomes etched onto the malleable frontal lobe of his skull.

Sans pulls back, the smile on his face is more genuine than it normally is, “yeah, of course bro…you know i love ya, right?”

Further puzzlement grows on Papyrus’ face, “OF COURSE BROTHER…YOU ARE LUCKY TO HAVE THE LOVE OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS IN RETURN.”

“you’re the coolest bro; i don’t tell you enough…but you mean a lot to me.”

A wide grin spreads across Papyrus’ face, “AND YOU ARE THE SECOND COOLEST BROTHER IN THE WORLD.”

You watch as they enter the house, lingering on the doorstep, _they’re happy now, Sans must feel terrible about what happened to Papyrus, I wonder if I should go in or not, what if he doesn’t want me around?_

Asriel nuzzles the side of your neck with his head, “Are you okay Frisk, for a moment back there I thought you were going to give up?”

“I was just so tired of fighting him, I said before that I wasn’t going to give up again, my body hurt so much and I froze for a second, if it wasn’t for you helping me dodge and Papyrus…” You trail off.

Asriel has a look of remorse on his face, “I should have done more to help you, sending pellets at him while guiding you in a fight is really exhausting, if I was stronger I could have moved you out of the way.”

You shake your head stubbornly, “You did everything you could, besides…it’s in the past now, we need to move on.”

“Yeah! You’re right, your **HP** has to about **18** by now, there’s only Asgore left to fight.”

_I’m such a liar, I wanted to give up…I’m too much of a coward to admit it to him though. How much longer can I keep on fighting? Don’t I owe it to him to try?_

_Well in any case I know for certain that i can use my **HP** count as a way to indicate whether someone is really **SAVED** or not, it’s increased since **SAVING** Sans so he’s definitely not tricking us anymore._

When you enter the house you run into an excited Alphys who had managed to arrange an meeting with most of the monsters to explain what had happened, apparently they had taken the explanation of time resetting fairly well, it did help that they could distinguish between their two sets of memories.  With their co-operation they had decided that it would be best to send a small group to reason with the King rather than storm the castle.

“S-So…um…is Undyne back yet, she had something important to do when she w-went out.” Alphys asks.

“I thought she went out to find Sans, although he returned with us.”

“W-Well, she was also planning on s-sending a progress report to Asgore, as captain s-she regularly does it, I-I’m worried that he’ll have caught on that there was a human in the Underground.”

_Something that never did make sense to me before was that Asgore seemed so surprised to see a human, did Undyne never report my existence to him before we became friends last time? Even if that’s so in this timeline when they all hated me Undyne had even more time despising me to turn me in to Asgore._

“How come Asgore was never made aware of my presence in the Underground, weren’t you all eager to kill me?” You ask bluntly.

Alphys winces slightly at your wording, “W-Well I-I think that most monsters d-didn’t turn you in because they w-wanted your soul for themselves, it provides unbelievable power to the monster that absorbs it…p-plus some just wanted vengeance for themselves…”

A crashing sound signifies the entrance of Undyne; they dash into the room with you and Alphys whilst elbowing other monsters that had gathered out of the way, _I’d forgotten how crowded this place got last time._

“BABE, I’m back, did you miss ME!” She hollers excitedly, her ripped arms lift Alphys without the slightest trouble and swing her around in a circle. Alphys blushes violently, her face brighter than a traffic light, when she is placed back down on the ground she responds in one of the most flustered tones of voice you had ever heard her use.

“O-Oh my God, a-are we really l-like date d-dating, I-I’m mean I know y-you said that stuff b-before b-but-” Undyne plants a large kiss on her lips, silencing her. She looks torn between mortified and ecstatic.

“Undyne!” A reproving voice rebukes, “There are children here, please keep such displays to the minimum.” Toriel looms behind them with her arms crossed sternly; the image is softened slightly by the smile her lips were fighting to form.

Undyne waves a hand dismissively, “Like they’re not familiar with flirting!” Their eyes glint at you wickedly.

Your face colours slightly, “Half of those were misunderstandings Undyne, you can’t talk, how many love letters did you practise writing?”

This time it’s Undyne’s turn to blush, “Shut up PUNK, anyway what do you mean by only ‘half’?”

You remain silent, Toriel’s shoulders shake slightly with laughter as she covers her mouth with one paw, “Oh my, do I even want to know?”

Asriel crawls off of you to hug Toriel, “Mom, I missed you.”

They brush Asriel’s petals gently, “I missed you too Flowey, my child.”

You were the only person who noticed the flash of hurt on Asriel’s face, _of course, how could I forget? Sans revealed Asriel’s identity but **LOADING** overwrote that part of the timeline, not only does everyone not remember the fight but Toriel doesn’t know that this is Asriel, her son. I wish that he didn’t have to go through it again; at least Mom has accepted him as her child even whilst oblivious to his identity._

Asriel coils back around you, you smile sympathetically at him, you could tell from his expression and the none-verbal communication that he wasn’t ready to tell her again just yet.

“So Undyne, how did your talk with Asgore go?” Her lip curls when she pronounces his name aloud.

“Well I made up the general bogus about patrolling and beating people up, I think he was a BIT suspicious that I didn’t talk about torture this time in the report.” She laughs nervously at Toriel’s horrified expression.

“Torture?”

“It’s not like we were all mentally stable or anything before we were **SAVED** , I bet you weren’t much better,” She finishes with a grumble.

“And he actually likes listening to reports of you torturing civilians?!” A murderous flash radiates from her eyes, “All of us had something to corrupt to begin with, the fact that that wretched whelp could derive pleasure from such a thing…”

You decide to intervene, “That’s not exactly fair, we can’t judge him yet, the corruption affected people differently. I’m sure many monsters weren’t opposed to torture.”

“I suppose you’re right. Even still this corruption doesn’t excuse the things he did in the previous timeline, he just seems to have killed the fallen children more viciously and encouraged violence in surplus.”

Alphys hesitates slightly before joining in, “W-Well… you know…in this timeline I have rarely seen Asgore, j-just before Frisk fell h-he sealed himself away i-in his castle and has only c-communicated via phone.”

Your discussion was disrupted by Papyrus bounding into the room with a much more cheerful Sans than before, “FRIENDS! IT IS TIME WE DEPART FOR THE CAPITAL, I THE GREAT PAPYRUS SHALL LEAD US INTO BATTLE AGAINST THE KING!”

“B-Battle…I-I thought we were j-just talking.” Alphys stutters in shock.

“WELL….WE SHALL BATTLE WITH OUR WORDS! NYEH HEH HEH!”

“yeah, we’re gonna have some sharp words with the king.” Sans adds to Papyrus distaste.

“What makes YOU the LEADER I’m the CAPTAIN of the Royal Guard?!” Undyne roars.

Alphys shoots her a pleading look to which Undyne relents, “I’m just messing with you nerd,” Their fist reaches upwards to Papyrus.

“NO! DON’T NOOGIE THE LEADER OF THE **SAVING** TEAM!”

“ **SAVING** team…really, you have no better name for us?” Asriel teases playfully.

“Meh, it’s apt enough,” You respond on his behalf.

Your team was made up of your original group of friends who helped you face Asgore last time, Toriel, Sans, Papyrus, Undyne and Alphys but with Asriel as an addition. Other monsters offered to be on standby in case the King wouldn’t listen to reason, Mettaton had rallied his supporters with the help of Napstablook to encourage you on your way through the Underground, gifting you with numerous MTT brand healing items; including a steak in the shape of his own face.

_It’s nice to see that Mettaton feels comfortable how they were originally as a ghost; they have so much support from their viewers. I wish I had that amount of confidence in those around me…_

As all of you couldn’t fit into the boat of the Riverperson some of the group elected to walk there, Undyne and Papyrus with their bountiful energy made it a competition to race there with the intention to meet up with you in the Judgement Hall. You begin to tune out the puns now freely thrown back and forth between Sans and Toriel as Papyrus was no longer in the vicinity, they we’re occasionally punctuated by small giggles from Alphys. Asriel seemed to be as solemn and quiet as yourself, keeping to themself, despite this you didn’t miss the pointed looks of worry that they cast in your direction. You tried your best to smile along with everyone else even though it was hard. Sans seemed to make a point of avoiding your eyes throughout the journey, instead opting to chatting with Toriel.

_Really, back on the boat so soon, what other cryptic messages will we have today?_

“Care for a ride?” The Riverperson chirped.

_Are they seriously never bothered by anything? They constantly sound optimistic despite having some kind of future insight that they enjoy to divulge sporadically._

Seating yourself at the back of the boat with Asriel, you absentmindedly run your fingers over his leaves while he relaxes into your chest.

“Tra-la-la The Angel is falling…slowly falling.”

For the first time since you had walked into the house with him, Sans met your gaze and shared a mutual look of apprehension and confusion with you.

When you leave the boat you feel Asriel tug on the end of your hair to get your attention. You allow your friends to progress in front of you; as you make your way to the lift leading to the castle.

“What’s up?”

Asriel pauses as if unsure how to phrase their question.

 “I’ve been thinking, the fact that I have my compassion back…my soul, it’s because I stole everyone else’s love. Well…what will happen to me when all of them are **SAVED?** The love they get back has to come from somewhere…from me…so if all of them are **SAVED** will I go back to how I was before?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Hand slips while adding dash of angst into the fanfic pot, all the angst falls out into pot* whoops XD


	23. What Would You Give?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asgore Time!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the longest chapter I've written, I spent four long hours on this.

You stop in your tracks, what? _No! Why should this happen to him, out of everyone down here he’s been my one constant ally in this madness. He doesn’t deserve this, if only I could so something…_

Asriel gazes at you sadly; he sees the dawning horror grow at the realisation of the implications of **SAVING** everyone.

“Maybe it won’t happen, what if you developed your own compassion after all this time, I mean it’s not like you took on everyone else’s personality traits, you’re still your own person without them…” You desperately try to come up with excuses, to no avail. Asriel shakes his head miserably.

“No Frisk, even if I didn’t gain traits of everyone’s souls the basic ability to love and empathise was stolen by me. I don’t have a soul of my own, all this time I’ve had a patchwork of everyone else’s, operating as a soul would. It’s just not possible…if we **SAVE** everyone then I will inevitably give up the remaining compassion I have.”

You notice the figures of your friends becoming more distant as they continue, oblivious to you stopping.

“But…all this time you would have had to have been losing love; you haven’t acted any differently no matter the number of people we **SAVED** , wouldn’t we have noticed your personality changing throughout our journey?” You reason.

“hey kiddo, you betta ketchup to us, we’re leaving ya behind!” Sans calls from afar.

 Reluctantly you catch up to the others; Toriel flashes a look of concern at your temporary absence, she mouths the words: ‘are you alright?’ You nod at her feinting reassurance.

_This is too cruel, for Asriel to be given happiness again after so long, only for it to be snatched away. Is it terrible of me to want to leave Asgore as he is? So my brother can remain himself. After all Asgore has killed a lot of children, who knows what other things he’s done in this timeline. Is it wrong of me to want Asriel to stay, to keep Flowey away? In the end I guess it’s not my decision to make._

Alphys leads you into her lab, the lift leading to the castle had been fixed while you were **SAVING** other monsters. _At least we don’t have to walk all the way there._

Unfortunately Alphys had decided to install a device to play music in the lift, heavy metal resonates from the lift while everyone stares at her in surprise.

“W-What? I-It’s from an anime.” She defends, taking in the looks of disbelief from her friends while muttering something under her breath about no one appreciating anime.

“don’t worry ‘bout it, i found it an uplifting experience.” Sans replies with a smirk, to which Toriel snorts.

Stepping out of the lift Toriel glances around uneasily, her expression seems melancholy. Her eyes fix on the numerous golden flowers adorning the hallway. Everything else was different shades of grey, merged with one another seamlessly. Toriel inhales sharply at the sight of the front of Asgore’s house, her old house..

You reach out your hand, squeezing her paw to comfort her, she smiles back gently with a sadness lingering in her eyes. After entering you make your way to the stairs, yet you notice that Toriel had stopped.

“Mom? Are you alright?” You ask.

“I’m fine my child, it’s just a lot to take in after so long. Last time I had much more urgency to reach you as you were in immediate danger. I didn’t take the time to remember, this house is full of so many memories..” She trails off. “Could you just give me a moment?”

You nod softly and wander off into the corridor on the right, passing by the closed doors to the bedrooms. Once again you are stood in front of the mirror, each time you looked into the mirror it seemed to mark a new chapter of your life. _When I first saw the one in Toriel’s house I was naïve and fearful of everyone, by the time I reached Asgore I had more confidence than I had had in a long time, after time reset, staring into the mirror before going to see Sans I saw the determination burning brighter than ever to **SAVE** everyone.  _

_And now, what do I see? I should be happy, soon everything will be back to normal, is that what I even want anymore? Is it worth Asriel sacrificing so much for? In the mirror the only thing I see is hollowness, every wound ever inflicted has healed on the surface alone. Every word cut a lot deeper, what is left of the original me._ You feel yourself unable to recognise yourself in the glass.

“Asriel…are you sure you want to go on? I would understand if you didn’t, in fact I would be relieved.” You whisper to him, your voice low so that Toriel, Sans and Alphys in the other room didn’t hear.

Asriel frowns at you, “I don’t have a choice, I did this to everyone, I can’t keep everyone from their happy ending. Besides I died a long time ago.” They laugh bitterly. “This is the price I must pay for playing God, even still at the very least you will hopefully have good memories of me…just don’t think of Flowey as me…please.”

You lock eyes with him, “I won’t give up on you Asriel. I will find a way for you to keep your compassion.” You insist determinedly.

“Don’t say that Frisk, I don’t want you to make a promise that you can’t keep.”

You return to the room with your friends.

“you ready tori?” Sans asks.

You begin to descend the stairs, down into the hallway beneath, the monotone blur of grey had an almost numbing sensation, slightly disorientating when everything looked vaguely the same.

The rest of the journey was made in silence, eventually you approach the ornately sculptured entrance to the Judgement Hall, the drastic contrast of colours was as dazzling as ever.  Honey glazed beams of light illuminating the room, windows aglow with its glare.

Your breath begins to come out quicker, your hands twist at the hem of your jumper anxiously, the movement causing Asriel to shift in discomfort.

Suddenly a bone flies past you.

 _No! No! NO! Make it stop, please not again, I can’t fight him again._ Tears begin to prickle at the corners of your eyes. The glow of the light behind your shut eye lids was a taunting reminder of everything that had transpired in that room. Your chest felt tight, it was hard to breathe.

“Frisk!” Asriel’s voice urges, “Snap out of it!”

You were too consumed by your memories to pay attention, the crimson blaze of Sans hatred cut through your mind.

In the back of your mind you acknowledged Papyrus and Undyne’s voices, full of worry. _Why are they here?_

“Papyrus! Undyne! You need to stop training now. You’re upsetting Frisk.” Asriel demands

A solid weight rests itself on your shoulder, “My child, what’s wrong? It’s okay, you’re safe.” You feel your face pressed against something warm and soft, Toriel was caressing your head.

Taking deep steadying breaths you open your eyes, your friends were all stood around you with concern evident in their expressions.

“HUMAN ARE YOU ALRIGHT? I AM SORRY IF WE ALARMED YOU, UNDYNE AND I HAD DECIDED TO TRAIN HERE WHILST WE WAITED FOR YOU ALL TO ARRIVE, I DIDN’T MEAN TO SCARE YOU, UNDYNE DEFLECTED ONE OF MY ATTACKS AND IT CAME CLOSE TO HITTING YOU.” Papyrus looks at you imploringly, you manage to smile weakly at him.

“I’m fine…I was just…startled.”

Undyne scowls, “That wasn’t ‘startled’ I recognise that look. Whoever hurt you so bad that you flinch at the sight of the most meagre attack will have HELL to pay for hurting my BESTIE!”

“Apart from yourself.” Asriel mutters from your shoulder, only loud enough for you to hear.

Your eyes flicker to Sans, he was sweating profusely, his gaze targeted immovably upon you. Guilt etched so deeply into his skull that his usual smile was barely present.

“kiddo, you okay?” He asks quietly.

You put on a bright smile, “Huh that was weird, I guess all the stress has been getting to me.” Everyone looks at you with disbelief, “I’m fine really, it’s just a combination of things, all the fighting.”

Undyne pats you on the back, somewhat violently, “Don’t worry punk, we won’t let ANYONE touch you, we’re here for you.”

Toriel finally releases you, Asriel shoots you a meaningful look, _of course he and Sans knew, why can’t I just get over it, all of them have tried to kill me at some point, why is everything associated with my encounter with Sans still terrifying?_

You walk across the hall uneasily, footsteps dully echo.

“It’s such a beautiful day.” Toriel comments absent mindedly.

You stiffen for a moment before agreeing, Sans looked physically ill from being back in this place, head twitch around nervously.

 He looked as if he could feel his sins crawling on his back.

At long last you stood before the entrance to the throne room, you swallow nervously as Toriel pushes the door open and strides forward.

The sight that meets your eyes is alarming. The once luscious green grass at the foot of the throne was no more now withered and dried like straw. The dazzling collection of golden flowers paving the ground were as putrefied as the ones in the Ruins, a sickly miasma arose from them, colour-leached petals lying in disarray.

And the king himself, regally imposing, a cloak the colour of dried blood trails from the throne down into the rotting flowers, some of the dead petals clung to the material. The winged emblem of the Delta Rune formed a brooch, pinning the cloak together, carved out ruby of a rich hue. His hair was matted and a darker tone than normal, your eyes travel up to his face, an unkempt beard and eyes containing the same ferocious shade of red as his brooch.

His eyes train themselves on you as the rest of your friends enter the room, standing by your side resolute. After analysing you he notices Toriel, a variety of expressions flicker across his face, shock and slight anger, even still there was a hint of something like hope; then it was quelled in an instant as soon as it had formed.

“What is the meaning of this?” His voice rumbles, the timbre was as deep as ever but lacking the warmth it usually held, instead it carried a feel of emptiness.

“Asgore, we have come to discuss something with you.” Toriel replies in an equally cold voice.

“Oh and what might that be? Perhaps it is the fact that you have all allowed a human to remain in my domain, without my permission.”

“This is really important, there is so much for us to explain to you, I know this is going to sound odd bu-”  Undyne begins only to be interrupted by the violent motion of a trident, carved out of an unidentifiable substance which cast a mahogany glow, it was swung down violently towards her head. Immediately a blue spear is summoned to block the attack.

“I am not interested in your excuses Undyne, I made you captain for a reason due to your absolutely ruthless nature, you have failed me. If your parents could see you consorting with filth like that they would disown you.”

You hear her grinding her teeth in response, “YOU DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THEM! Don’t YOU dare pretend you know what they would want of me!” She bellows, rage ignited behind her single eye. Alphys stepped next to Undyne nervously, despite her shaking she stood resolute.

“Y-Your Majesty, I-It is important that y-you listen, if you h-hurt Undyne then I-I’ll make you regret it!”

He sneers at her attempt, a small flame is formed in the centre of his left paw, he mimes throwing it at her, to which she flinches and cowers behind Undyne.

“That’s what I thought.”

In a yell of anger Undyne summons more spears to hurl at Asgore, “Don’t YOU DARE touch MY girlfriend!”

Unlike when you fought Asgore, where he lacked the will to fight this time he used every ounce of his strength to counter Undyne’s attacks.

“I made you Undyne, I can break you.”

“That’s enough Dreemurr, you will cease this pointless fighting at once.” Toriel declares, derision marring her face.

Asgore begins to laugh, there was no humour behind it at all. “What right have you to make decisions here, you gave up your claim to the throne, you no longer have any power or authority Toriel. Whatever lingering regret you had over that child’s death is meaningless now, soon we will descend upon humanity and exact our revenge.”

“What use is revenge? It will never bring them back, we need to stop living in the past. Or perhaps you are too selfish to care about the rest of your people.”

A wall of flames erupts from Asgore, ready to slam into Toriel, it is blocked by numerous bones overlapping one another, creating an strange chainmail like appearance.

“you’re getting a bit heated there buddy, you might wanna back off.” Sans calls out.

“I WILL NOT LET YOU HURT MY FRIEND!” Papyrus adds as he combines his magic with Sans to fend off the attacks.

“This is treason! If all of you insist on defying me then I will incinerate the child myself and drag their soul from a pile of ash!”

Your soul is violently tugged out of your body to reside above the outside of your chest. The colour was pretty much the same as when you had fallen except that it had less radiance, _at least it no longer looks diseased and broken._

Asriel immediately reacts by extending his vines out to cover your body, a flexible mesh to help guide your dodging and agility.

“You really think that a pathetic flower can keep you from death, that is foolhardy. Prepare to die!”

As soon as Asgore raised his trident to impale you on its points your friends reacted, fire surged around you, bones rose from the ground along with spears to meet each attempted blow, even an electric current ebbed and flowed around the radius where you stood from Alphys.

_I’m really the cause of so much violence, if I wasn’t here then my friends wouldn’t be in so much danger, putting their lives on the line for me._

The battle waged on, your friends rarely reciprocated with their own attacks in fear of actually killing Asgore, occasionally you had to avoid flames directed at you, even still the amount of attacks that slipped past your friends were minimal.

“Frisk we can’t keep just defending ourselves, we’ll tire eventually, we have to fight back!” Undyne insists.

“You turn to address Asgore, “This fight is futile, even if you defeat everyone the rest of the Underground is willing to arrive at a moment’s notice, you will get tired eventually.”

“SILENCE human, you do not have the right to speak, after the atrocities your kind has committed, I will erase your existence from this Earth.”

You see Asriel flinch in pain as one of his vines intercepts part of the blast of a fire attack, he had remained quiet throughout the fight, Asgore didn’t know he seemed unsure what to say to him. Finally it appeared that he had had enough of the fighting.

“Dad! Stop!”

His attacks falter for a second, almost as if he recognised his voice, to those who didn’t know of Asriel’s true identity he defaulted to the tone of voice he used when he was known as Flowey. Toriel turns to look in your direction in shock.

“W-What did you call me..?” Asgore asks, his voice sounds more bewildered than anything else.

Asriel shifts forward so that is head is craned around to the centre of your chest, just above your floating exposed soul.

“Dad.” They reply simply, you’re the only one to notice how anxious they are, how much their vines are trembling whilst pressed up against you.

His eyes go wide before they narrow, his face contorts with anger, “I am not your father, you would dare to impersonate my child!”

“Flowey? Are you really…” Toriel whispers, her eyes glisten with unshed tears.

“I am Asriel Dreemurr, heir to the throne, eldest child of Toriel and yourself Asgore. I demand that you stop trying to harm Frisk.”

“What makes you think you can try such a disgusting trick? Asriel’s death is the reason that we must get revenge against humanity, there is no way he would protect a human.”

“Is that so? You who took in the first fallen child would dishonour Chara’s memory by attempting to annihilate all humans, was their life really that meaningless to you?”

You shiver at the mention of Chara. Indecision crosses Asgore’s face, a conflicted battle over whether to believe him or not.

“Have you been wallowing in self-pity and vengeance for so long that you have forgotten who I am, you just used me as an excuse because of the spite you had for being sealed down here. Have you forgotten everything we experienced together? Even when we misbehaved you were never angry at us…even when we made you the pie with buttercups instead of cups of butter…even then you could never hate us. Are you really going to kill your own son, I’m not moving from Frisk’s side so if you kill them then I’ll die too!”

Toriel looks horrified, “All this time…Asriel…you were alive, I blamed myself for what happened, we saw you die, how is this possible?”

“It’s really me Mom, I’m alive. Alphys brought me back as a flower using my dust and determination, Frisk has been here for me all this time, after I came back I wasn’t myself, I was like how you all were, except it was worse, I was empty inside. I couldn’t have gone to any of you.”

_I’m glad they no longer have to feel empty inside, it’s awful, they shouldn’t have to go back to that. Please don’t **SAVE** Asgore._

Asgore falls to his knees, trident discarded, “After all this time I thought I was a failure as a father. Now I have learnt that I was more terrible than I ever feared. I failed you, I failed Chara…my people…my wife…” His eyes briefly look up to meet hers, all forms of defence now minimal in response to his relenting attack.

His hands reach out to clasp his head as he moans in pain.

_It has begun._

**“Human... It was nice to meet you. Goodbye.”**

**“Truthfully... I do not want power.”**

**“I do not want to hurt anyone.”**

**“I just wanted everyone to have hope...”**

**“Human... I promise you... For as long as you remain here... My wife and I will take care of you as best we can. We can sit in the living room, telling stories... Eating butterscotch pie... We could be like... Like a family”**

Finally Asgore raises his head, eyes no longer burning red, his cloak shifting to a soft violet. The flowers throb with colour, rejuvenated.  He looks calm, despite being at peace his face is weary and guilt ridden.

You approach him with Asriel who latches onto him, his vines winding around tightly to embrace him.

“I missed you so much Dad, I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you before.”

Toriel hesitates before walking over and joining in the hug, leaving the rest of your friends to watch with wide beams on their faces.

“This doesn’t mean I forgive you Asgore.”

He nods silently.

“Frisk, I can only apologise for what I put you through, my mind feels strangely hazy. If you wish I would be more than happy if you would still want to be a family.”

You smile at him gently, holding no resentment against him for trying to kill you.

“I would like that.”

You turn to look at Asriel, anxiety suddenly gripping you, _what is going to happen to him?_

For a long moment you stand there, Asriel’s fearful gaze on you, anticipating that which you dread.

_I would do anything to **SAVE** him from a fate like that, I can’t lose him. This is all so pointless, I’m to blame for everything that happened not him, he finally has his parents back, I don’t deserve parents…after what I caused mother to do, my existence is pointless. Beside would they really miss me that much? I know that doubting my friends got me into this mess to begin with, yet those doubts remain. All the things they felt and did when they were corrupted, those were their negative emotions, still present in them now, they just repress them with their positive ones. I bet they only stay my friend out of obligation…_

Your friends are watching your tense body language with confusion, you had explained the basics of how you gained **HP** when a monster was **SAVED** before, even still they were unaware of the problem Asriel was facing.

At last Asriel breaks the silence, “How much **HP** do you have Frisk?”

You shrug and check it, **HP: 19** , you frown slightly and relay the number to them.

“I thought that we had **SAVED** everyone, who else is left?” You ask.

_That means, that Asriel will still be okay for now, that’s a relief._

Asriel takes a deep breath, their smile is sad, “Whoever it is they still need **SAVING**.”

His words were a reminder that he was willing to give up his new found compassion for this stranger.

Resentment builds up in you, _they shouldn’t have to help anyone else, they are just as much entitled to being happy as whatever random monster still needs **SAVING** , _

“Screw whoever it is, as long as you’re safe it’s fine.”

Asriel looks startled, this expression melts into concern, “Frisk that’s not like you.”

A cold feeling spreads throughout your chest, your mind feels like it’s full of fog, despite the initial panic at the sensation there was something peaceful about the numbing feel.

 **“You’d really give anything, to SAVE them, huh. Want to make a deal Partner?”** The words vibrate and buzz inside your head.

“Yes.” You say aloud. Everyone turns to look at you in confusion.

“who ya talkin to kid?” Sans asks looking disturbed.

Your vision becomes misty, you feel almost as if you are receding into yourself, your limbs lose their feeling entirely; no longer able to feel Asriel anxiously writhing against you to snap you out of the trance like state, your eyes close.

You let go.

A distant thought rings in your head, **“The Angel has fallen”**

Your eyes snap open, a smile curling on your lips, eyes wide with cold curiosity. You feel your mouth open, words that are not your own in a voice terribly familiar reverberate around the room.

 

“Greetings.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Manical laughter*


	24. When Angels Fall And Demons Rise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here comes our favourite CHARActer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 100 kudos! Thanks so much everyone for your support and comments, they really makes my day.
> 
> I swear, all day I've been making typo's, the number of times I've wrote Asrile, Snas and Frsik is unreal, I had to keep checking the chapter for errors.

_This is for the best; as long as Asriel is safe then I will gladly sacrifice my body and soul._

Even if you were unable to control your body you were still aware of the sensation of your limbs moving without your consent. Not only was this a strange feeling but it appeared to be coupled with an icy chill, as if semi-frozen water was injected into your veins.

_They promised that if they were in control then Asriel wouldn’t revert back to his Flowey persona, despite the fact they threaten me on a regular basis in my dreams; I’m so desperate to find anyway to help him that I’ll do anything, besides my life is worthless anyway._

You watch from a place in the back of your mind, seeing the reactions of your friends to Chara’s voice flowing past your lips.

Asriel immediately goes stiff, his previous actions in attempting to break your dazed state rendered pointless. His eyes widen in shock, in recognition.

Chara turns your head towards Sans, the lights in his sockets extinguished the instant they heard Chara speak. Something akin to fear and rage intermingled becomes present on their face. The rest of your friends just appeared to be confused that you were greeting them after a long period of silence, Toriel and Asgore looked uneasy as if the voice was familiar but they were unable as of yet to separate the voice from you in context to their first child.

“kiddo…that’s not your voice.” Sans utters in a voice filled with malice.

They smile back at him pleasantly, “Whatever do you mean?”

Papyrus regards you warily, “HUMAN, WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO YOUR EYES? THEY DIDN’T USED TO BE RED DID THEY?”

Toriel watches the exchange with trepidation, eyes flickering to Asgore as if to confirm the thought crossing her mind. Asgore returns the look, equal confusion and unease, the voice coming from the child in front of them didn’t belong to them.

“What’s wrong Azzy? Don’t you recognise your own sibling? It wouldn’t surprise me; after all you’re fine with breaking your promises, being a little traitor.” Chara maintains a sickly sweet smile yet their voice held a threatening tone.

“Ch-Cha-ra…” Asriel whispers, eyes locked on yours and Chara’s.

You hear Toriel inhale sharply, one paw raised up to cover her mouth, Asgore shifted closer to her as they both approached you.

“Chara? My child, is that you?” Toriel asks hesitantly.

“Their soul…it doesn’t feel like Frisk’s…” Asgore adds in a murmur, “Could it be..?”

They grin at Sans, “In the _flesh_ , quite literally.”

Sans lets out a growl of fury, blue flames engulf his face, radiating from his eye. Summoning a Gaster Blaster into existence he sends it at Chara, the blast would have caught them unaware, it could have even possibly killed them had Asgore not intervened.

His trident was pulled from the ground; it swatted the blaster out of the air and it crumbled into dust, his eyes level with Sans, equal fury mirrored in his own.

“I do not quite understand what has occurred Sans but I will not allow you to kill this child, whoever they are.” Asgore states coldly.

“you don’t understand! they’re not who you think they are!” Sans insists.

With a nod from Asgore, Undyne moves to apprehend Sans, wrapping her arms around him into a headlock.

“S-Sans…why would you attack Frisk?” Alphys asks in shock.

“What the FUCK do you think you’re doing SANS?!” Undyne roars.

Chara smirks at him as they approach Toriel to hug her, Asriel slides off of their shoulder, face rigid with apprehension and watches uncertainly.

“Mom, it’s really me, I’m back.”

Their arms encircle them as they cling to them whilst crying.

_So…that’s how it is, the only ones that care that I’m gone are Asriel and Sans. Toriel and Asgore have their family back...How Toriel acted while corrupted makes sense now, they just wanted to use me to replace Chara, even though they insisted that they loved me also. Asgore barely knows me, in each timeline he was only seconds away from murdering me. Papyrus, Alphys and Undyne haven’t even noticed that I’m gone…_

_Is there any point in me remaining and watching? Will I be subjected to a lifetime of silence, watching them all progress without me? I don’t know if I can do that._

**_Then leave._** Chara’s voice echoes in your shared mind.

_I guess the only worth I had was keeping Asriel happy and reuniting their family. I no longer have a purpose. I wish I didn’t have to exist anymore._

You feel whatever is left of you begin to dissolve, the concentration you had upheld while taking a backseat in the control of your body, now vanishing. _Goodbye._

Noticing the now empty feeling in their head Chara’s expression becomes smug.

“Frisk gave me their body, they wanted to **SAVE** me.”

“No! Why would they do that?” Asriel yells in a panicked voice.

Their eyes narrow, “Aren’t you happy to see me brother?”

They gulp hard and exchange a glance with Sans, whatever fear they were feeling was incomparable to the intensity of emotions he felt.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN HUMAN? ARE YOU NOT FRISK?” 

They shake their head, “I am Chara Dreemurr, the adopted child of Toriel and Asgore.”

Toriel gives a small sob, “How is this possible? What has happened to Frisk?”

“Does it matter?” They respond irritably.

By this point Sans’ rage had become uncontainable and he had teleported out of Undyne’s grasp to grab Chara.

“all this time i thought it was them that killed everyone in those parallel worlds, it was you wasn’t it? i recognise you’re voice kiddo; you possessed them then as well huh? i gotta say, it isn’t _knife_ to meet ya.”

Chara twists in their grip, feinting terror to gain the sympathy of their parents, “Mom! Dad! Please help me, I don’t know why he wants to hurt me, I’m scared!”

Toriel reacts this time hurling fire out at Sans, he doesn’t teleport fast enough, still holding onto Chara, the fire strikes him across his startled face.

**Damage: 1**

Sans stares at Toriel in disbelief, his body losing substance.

“whatever you do, don’t trust them!” he chokes out, the lights in his sockets fix on Papyrus’ horrified face as he turns to dust before everyone’s eyes.

Papyrus bursts into tears, “S-SANS! PLEASE…PLEASE COME BACK…I’M SORRY…I SHOULD HAVE DONE SOMETHING…PLEASE…”

Toriel is transfixed on the sight of the pile of dust, her cheeks begin to flood with tears, “I-I didn’t know h-he was s-so w-weak.”

Asgore attempts to wrap an arm around her, to which she shrugs off angrily. “I-I killed him.”  Her voice broken and incredulous.

Undyne stands by Alphys defensively as they watch mute and unresponsive.

“What’s wrong Mom? You should be happy, he was going to hurt me, isn’t my life worth more than theirs, Sans and Frisk.”

Toriel’s once unseeing gaze, clouded with tears becomes locked on Chara’s beaming face, “H-How can you be so happy about this, they w-were my friend…and Frisk…are they coming back?”

They sneer at her, “That coward isn’t returning, this body is mine to do with as I please.”

“Bring them back!” Asriel growls, despite their brave exterior, inside they shook terribly.

“What’s so great about them? After all the reason that this corruption happened was because of them and Asriel. I thought you would be happy to see me again…perhaps I was wrong.”

“You are not my child.” Asgore rumbles angrily. “The Chara I knew cared for their family, for the wellbeing of Monsterkind as a whole, whoever you are, you are a twisted facsimile of their memory.”

“Frisk is just as much our child as you and Asriel are.” Toriel replies sorrowfully.

Chara’s eyes flicker to the fallen form of Papyrus, a glint in the flowers beside them catches their eye, a rusted handle of half a pair of shears that had broken in half lay in the grass. Walking steadily up to them, they ignore Undyne trying to comfort Alphys’ shaking form.  They stretch out a hand to pat Papyrus awkwardly whilst the other scoops up the ragged blade.

“It was an accident Papyrus, Toriel didn’t mean to kill him.”

Their face turns up from the ground in their kneeled position by Sans’ ashes.

“WHY, WHY DID THIS HAVE TO HAPPEN?”

Stowing the blade behind them, under their jumper they step back. They glance over at the containers of human souls on display before the throne, Bravery, Justice, Kindness, Patience, Integrity and Perseverance. They cast a weak light through the glass, the seventh was empty, intended for Frisk’s soul.

 Asriel drags themself forward using their vines to propel them so they are in front of Chara, leaves crossed around their stem defiantly. “Chara this isn’t right, you’re dead, you can’t take Frisk’s body.”

“You’re one to talk, did you not come back from the dead also? Who are you to argue what is right, after all you’ve done some pretty bad things Asriel.” They pause contemplatively, “ I too had a determined soul, not as determined as Frisk’s who could bend time to their will, even still it was enough to linger, trapped in the void. I refused to let go, I could form windows in which to watch you all, transcending time itself. I know of everything you’ve done; so don’t start with your hypocrisy.”

“I don’t know who the HELL you are but if you don’t bring our friend back then I will eviscerate you in the most BRUTAL way possible.” Undyne hisses out, her hands still rubbed soothing circles into Alphys’ back, Alphys continued to stare at the dust in horror.

“You’re really willing to damage this body? You’re more careless than I thought Undyne. What makes you even think that Frisk wants to come back? They’ve been treated so poorly by all of you at one point or another, what if they’re happier in the void?”

“The void?” Asriel whispers, “What did you do to them?”

They shrug absentmindedly, “We simply made a deal, they were concerned for your wellbeing, isn’t that sweet?” Their voice adopts a higher pitch, “Who else do you reckon needs **SAVING** in this hellhole? Who has continuously suffered and become more and more depressed as time goes on? You call yourself their brother, did you even notice there was something wrong with them?” They taunt.

Realisation dawns on Asriel, “Frisk gained **HP** when they **SAVED** their friends, I consumed the love of everyone in the underground, everyone’s souls…including Frisk…but…no…you have to be wrong, Frisk cared about us, they brought back their enemies from the dead, of course they still had empathy!”

“Maybe so, however did you really not notice their mental health degrading, their panic attacks, their apathy…and finally their refusal to **SAVE** anyone else.”

“After everything they went through anyone would logically act like that, it doesn’t mean they lost their ability to love.”

Chara begins to laugh, “I know more about them than you do, did they even tell you that I used to communicate in their dreams with them?” Taking in the look of hurt and shock on Asriel’s face their grin widens, “I guess not then. Slowly throughout their journey it got worse, for every person they **SAVED** they received part of their corruption along with gaining their **HoPe** back from them. Only a fraction of who they were remained.”

“That’s enough Chara, stop this madness.” Asgore states firmly.

They begin to giggle again, “Aren’t you curious? Don’t you know where Frisk’s love is?” They raise their arm and point at Asriel, “Your precious son, returned from the dead, he stole it. In fact he stole everyone’s, Frisk was able to hold onto a small quantity even though Asriel still has theirs, **SAVING** everyone made them use it all up!” They pop the ‘p’ on the end of the word playfully.

Toriel regards both Asriel and Chara warily, her fur was still soaked with tears, her eyes straying back to the dust in the flowers by Papyrus. “I-I don’t understand…all along I felt that way because of something you did..?”

Guilt weaves its way into Asriel’s face, “I’m sorry Mom, I was like you were before we **SAVED** you, in taking everyone’s love and resetting time everyone was rendered corrupted and absent of their memories. No matter the reason it’s no excuse for what I did…”

Chara reaches down to ruffle Asriel’s petals cheerfully, “Never mind Azzy, I thought it was an improvement. They stopped being hypocrites feinting  virtue and embraced their inner darkness. Just because they’re now ‘normal’ it excuses all the things they’ve done.”

“W-What do y-you mean?” Alphys eventually whispers, adding to the conversation for the first time since Sans’ death.

“Oh I don’t know? Maybe the fact that you are all only concerned for yourselves. I was told that I was part of a family, that I was loved. Not only was I betrayed by my brother as his cowardice lost us our lives but my parents practically scorned my memory. I guess you didn’t love me that much, you declared war on humanity because of Asriel’s death, what does that mean of me. You treated all humans the same, killing them on sight. Don’t get me wrong I couldn’t give a shit about humanity in general, it’s the principle, by doing so you dishonoured me!” Their rant grows more incensed. “I had desired to set you all free, going so far as to kill myself for a chance that you could claim seven human souls, my sacrifice was wasted and you all forgot me.”

Toriel speaks in a quiet voice, “I never forgot you Chara. I’m sure Asgore didn’t either, I myself didn’t agree with the killing of the humans.”

Chara rolls their eyes, “Such a saint, let’s see what you did. You attempted to replace me multiple times with any child to fall into the Underground, this time was worse than the others, even going so far as to force Frisk to accept my name as their own. You can deny it and say you weren’t yourself but that desire to replace me must have been there to begin with, to be built on.”

Their eyes rest in Asriel, “And you’re the biggest disgrace of them all, I trusted you, I died for you once in agony. Consuming poisonous flowers, all you had to do was collect another six souls from the surface, to fight back. Whatever remained of my existence was thrown from this reality as you let the humans kill us, leaving me to die for a second time. I would have been happy to die for all of you…you are undeserving of whatever compassion I once had. You’ve all taught me so many wonderful things, never to trust anyone, never to become attached and to do whatever the hell you want without regard for the consequences.”

They begin to approach the throne, Asriel tries to trip them up with their vines,  Chara responds by pulling out the broken shears and raking them across the barely resistant substance of their vines. Asriel howls in pain retracting their vines.

“Why would you do that Chara, we never asked you to die for us. We could have been happy.” Asgore pleads.

Chara raises the blade with a satisfied smile on their face almost feeding off their terror. “There is no need to lie to me, I am well acquainted with all of your thoughts, when you were corrupted your minds partially overlapped with the void, a place of the lost and forgotten, where your memories resided. It was so easy to influence you, to whisper into your minds.”

“IF YOU KNOW SO MUCH ABOUT US THEN CAN YOU NOT FEEL THE DEPTH OF OUR LOVE ALSO?” Papyrus says in a soft voice, drained of their usual enthusiasm.

“Love is an illusion, self-gratification. You trick yourselves into believing you care for others so you can receive their comfort when it is all for selfish reasons. When it comes down to it you’d all rather save your own skin.”

They continue advancing forward with their blade drawn, “What? Are you going to kill me? You’re going to let your child die a third time?”

They now stand in front of the souls with the shears pointing outwards at anyone daring to stop them.

“What are you doing Chara?” Toriel asks wearily, “What is it that you want?”

The ruby glow in their eyes brightens with excitement, “So glad you asked. Don’t any of you think that it’s strange that Frisk’s body was capable of inhabiting a second soul? Monsters can absorb human souls, humans can absorb Boss Monster souls, monsters can’t absorb monster souls, humans can’t absorb human souls. Those are the rules right? Frisk is different, their determined soul can bend time itself, it latches on to places in time by making connections, it’s like a black hole for energy, an abnormality. Even though their conscious presence doesn’t remain, there is still their soul and my own shattered one present in this body.”

“Why the FUCK does that matter, I couldn’t care less about that!” Undyne growled out now advancing towards them to disarm them.

“You should.” They reply simply.

“Chara please, let’s talk. Give me a chance to explain…and apologise to you!” Asriel begs.

“It’s too late for that, I no longer need you.”

Chara brings their arm across horizontally and with all of their might swipes the blade across the six containers, the sound of shattering glass rings out across the room.

Everyone stares at them in shock and confusion, this morphs into apprehension as the souls are released.

Pulsing souls, throwing off light, all the colours of the rainbow save for red draw close to Chara. They begin to laugh manically. The intense glow compresses together into a radiant white. Streams of light surge into their chest, filling them completely with their power.

The souls of eight human beings in one vessel.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well...that escalated...I'm sorry I have a compulsive habit of killing characters and messing them up. XD
> 
> You know all of these cliffhangers are revenge for the many fics I've read that put me through the same pain.


	25. Come To The Dark Side, We Have Chocolate!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uh...well the actual story doesn't really progress in this chapter, we get to see Frisk's perspective of events in the void.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably my favourite chapter name :-D

_Where am I? Is this the void? I guess it doesn’t matter anyway. It looks like none of them cared about me anyway. Toriel and Asgore have their family back together, maybe Asgore won’t go to war with humanity if they ever get free from the barrier, he has his children back now. I promised Asriel that no matter what I would find a way to stop him from turning back into Flowey…even though he told me not to make a promise I couldn’t keep…_

It felt more like the times in your dreams where you had control over your body; than the sheer nothing of the void when Asriel originally consumed your soul, even still you were engulfed in darkness.

_I wonder if they’re finally happy, it was humans that took all of their hopes and dreams away before, I suppose it was fitting that a human should be the one to give it back to them. Who am I kidding, why would they show gratitude towards me?_

The loud buzz of static fills your ears making you wince, _why does it sound so familiar?_

A cloaked figure advances towards you; it regarded you warily but held pity in its gaze. Jagged cracks running down from the top of their skull, splitting their socket, long thin hands are draw out of their robes with smooth circular holes cut into their bones.

[So, you returned Frisk.] They sign slowly, almost lethargic if you were to go by their expression as well as their body language.

**‘[** **If you are able to enter the timeline you will surely have more determination and you will be able to reclaim the ability to SAVE, LOAD and RESET, use this wisely.]’**

In your mind’s eye you could vaguely recall meeting them here, conversations about timelines and corruption. Your thoughts wander off to think of Sans who this person resembled along with Papyrus. Then it clicked, the name of the attack that Sans used. **Gaster Blaster**.

_How could I forget them, after all of their encouragement and kindness, I truly am a terrible person._

“Gaster…” You whisper, your voice dry from disuse.

They tilt their head in acknowledgement, a sad smile spread across their face.

[Hello child, it has been a while has it not?]  They pause, their expression twitches slightly, [I have been watching, can you truly say you are satisfied with this outcome?]

“It is the best I can do, to give everyone the happy ending they deserve, I am an unnecessary addition, even if they are originally sad about my no longer being alive, I’m sure they will get over it, they have their family back…as for my other friends…well, when they learn what caused the corruption they will hate me anyway.” You reply despondently.

A frown crosses Gaster’s malleable brow, [Are you certain of that? Even when your friends were so willing to go to your aid whenever you called?]

Your face jerks up from its down turned position, “I just said, they didn’t know what I did!” You snap.

They shake their head with a look of disappointment, [Can you not see anything wrong with your actions, allowing Chara back into the world of the living? Surely you will have grasped the essence of their personality by now, do you think it wise allowing them to travel around and be able to interact with others?]

“Chara is their child, maybe they can be happy too. As long as I don’t return, as long as I’m not **SAVED** Asriel will be safe and happy. I won’t let them give up their compassion, besides I already have love, I’m fine.”

[Do you really think you’re ‘fine’?] They emphasize the last word by gesturing more violently, an angry static hiss fills the space around you.

_What does he mean? Of course I’m fine. What’s wrong with sacrificing yourself for others, especially when you deserve it. Plenty of people have done it in the past, what’s his problem?_ You scowl angrily at Gaster.

“It was my life, I can choose to do whatever I want with it! Besides I don’t see what you have to complain about, I **SAVED** everyone, just like you wanted.”

The pinpricks of light in the centre of Gaster’s eyes faded away, you shiver at how similar his anger looks to Sans. [Because of your decision my son is dead! Sans…Chara’s actions lead to Toriel killing him.]

You freeze in place _, wait, his son? Sans is Gaster’s son…and Papyrus too._

Your arms are held stiffly by your side, shoulders tensed. “That can’t be true, why would Toriel kill anyone, Sans no less?”

[I assure you it is true, what reason do I have to lie to you? You have unleashed that demon onto the world!] Their face gives away more and more to irritation.

You snort unattractively, “That sounds a bit harsh, it’s true they seem a bit unsettled and threatening but after staying in the void for so long it isn’t surprising, they mentioned that they interact with other timelines, even genocide ones and they watched them, that’s enough to mess anyone up.”

[They did more than just interact, they whispered inside the heads of your iterations, urging them to kill the monsters, as soon as their **LOVE** was high enough they would take control of their bodies and annihilate that particular timeline, over and over again like some kind of game, destroying timelines one after another.]

Your breath catches in your chest, moisture gathering in your eyes, heart slamming violently in your chest, your soul felt like it was physically aching. “So…even when I try to help everyone, even when I give up EVERYTHING, I fail, I’m so sick of this!” Your quiet voice grows in volume, red flashing before your eyes.

Concern crosses Gaster’s face, [Frisk, you can still **SAVE** them all from Chara if you return.]

You notice shadows drifting towards you, they eagerly sway around you. The pressure on your chest alleviates as one curls around you, soft and caressing, it spread a soothing cooling sensation throughout you. Gaster reacts quickly, a golden spark flickers in one socket as he tries to pull the Sorrows off of you. For some reason the fact that they are covering you doesn’t bother you, not anymore.

“Fuck them.” You say eventually, acedia lacing each word.

Panic flashes across Gaster’s face, their hands fill up with honey coloured light, the concentrated beam melts the Sorrows, their hands gesture wildly,[No Frisk, you need to stay determined! Don’t you care about your friends?!]

“Why should I? I gave them everything I had and more, what else do I have to give? If they can’t deal with a single child when there are six monsters with magic in the same room then they’re screwed, what could I possible accomplish by myself that they can’t?”

Gaster breathes deeply, steeling himself, he stretches a hand out to grasp your own. Your reaction was minimal, your eyes flicker down at your hand cupped by his own before gazing away in apathy. He notices how limp your hand is in his own and squeezes it to provoke a reaction, to which you barely respond.

His buzzing becomes softer, the pitch lower and slightly warmer sounding, he releases your hand to sign again, looking perturbed. [You love your friends, they are in danger. Don’t you want to help them?]

Your expression doesn’t change in the slightest, “You mean just like they all tried to **SAVE** me, how they all tried their best to protect me in the Underground from one another, how they stopped me from dying.” You pause for effect, “Oh wait, they didn’t.”

Gaster looks scandalized, his body drawing away from your own.

“It’s funny isn’t it, even the second time round when they offered to help me it was only for brief periods of time. As for the first time, after I befriended Undyne she didn’t even call off her guards, Alphys hired someone to threaten me so she could play hero. Sans made a promise to protect me, I don’t remember him ever stepping in to prevent me from being killed. I could go on…”

[Your friends love you, you must know this] He defends agitatedly.

“I’m sorry but I can’t see it that way, I was a convenience and a replacement, when I was no longer needed, when the novelty faded I was cast aside. Maybe Chara was on to something…who can you really trust, what value does love even have?”

[Don’t you care that Sans is dead?]

“Should I? He’s certainly killed me enough times for no reason, he can stay dead for all I care.”

 Aside from the general apathy you were experiencing there was a spark of something else, something that had always been there, that you had ignored, resentment. It felt like it ran deep into your core.

_I feel so cold. What is the point of anything? Yet…this warmth inside, a feeling, no matter what it is, it is better than the numbness. It’s hotter than I thought. Hatred._

You focus all of your attention on the feeling of burning within you, before it had seemed that being numb was a welcome reprieve from the despair and guilt, _no, this feels better, why did I always shut this feeling out. It all makes sense now, they abandoned me on a whim. THeY dEsErVe To PaY!_

You only just notice that your eyes had been shut, they flash open. You watch as Gaster recoils, his unease evolves into horror as his sockets fix themselves on your eyes. Sparks of gold flicker into existence around him, an instantaneous reaction to his distress.

[No Frisk! You must stop!] Arms furiously swipe through the air. His hands falter for a second, [C-Child…your eyes…]  Anxious buzzing increases in volume, it felt like it was carving into you.

A smile crosses your face, “Maybe you’re right Gaster, perhaps I should return. I can clearly see now. They didn’t deserve to be **SAVED** , the only ones that ever did were those discarded, Asriel couldn’t return to their family when they became a flower, they couldn’t feel loved by them. Chara’s very memory was betrayed by a declaration of war on humanity, they have a right to be bitter and so do I.”

The shadows writhe around you once more, enthusiastically attaching themselves, feeding off of your negativity, you didn’t care, they could do whatever they wanted. For the first time in what felt like forever you let yourself feel, everything you had denied and felt ashamed of, the relief of having it flood you was incomparable to any other sensation.

Oblivious to Gaster’s desperate attempts to calm you down you shut out the void. You could sense Your body, pulsing with Chara’s life-force, _it’s so easy, I’m not confined by the void, not even time itself. My determination surpasses it all, hah…it’s so easy to leave._

You don’t notice Gaster’s reluctant withdrawal from your proximity as he signs one last thing, [Determination, the resolve to continue unchanged and unswayed. Transcending death with memories and soul intact. It is a basic reaction fuelled by greater emotions, be it love or hate.]

The void melts away into the throne room, you are once again looking through your physical eyes. Chara moves your body towards the containers of souls, you feel your brow crease slightly.

**“Oh, you came back. How interesting…”**

Their voice resonates through your shared head, the tone of voice was coloured with curiosity and amusement. The expression on your face doesn’t betray any surprise to those around you, keeping Chara’s default smile.

**“Yeah…I decided to stick around and watch.”** You reply.

**“And why would that be? Do you really want to see me slaughter all of your friends as I attain true Godhood?”**

You pause, instead of responding with words you concentrate on transmitting emotions rather than words to communicate your current opinion. You allow your mind to fill with the despair and rage, the feelings of betrayal and resentment that had been festering like an untreated wound. You can feel them cautiously probing your mind, a cold tingle around the edges as they observed your state of mind.

Laughter resounds in your head, rolling around, a cascading wave. It was almost infectious bringing a similar smile to your metaphysical face within your head, not touching your actual one under Chara’s dominion.

**“Wow, I never thought you of all people would see. The truth is alarming isn’t it? I gave up believing in them long ago, I saw how futile it was, how undeserving of our love they were.”** Their voice takes on something strangely akin to affection, **“But you’re just like me aren’t you? Don’t worry Frisk I’ll make sure they never hurt us ever again.”**

“Chara please, let’s talk. Give me a chance to explain…and apologise to you!” Asriel begs.

Your attention flicks back to your surroundings, Papyrus kneeling before a pile of dust, _presumably Sans’_ , Undyne advancing resolutely to disarm you, leaving an anxious Alphys quivering in the corner of the room. Toriel and Asgore stand side by side, now mute with horror and shock; Asriel, like Undyne was attempting to approach you and Chara whilst holding one of their vines limply as if it were injured.

**“I don’t care what you do, I just want them to feel every ounce of the same pain that I have been through. I want them to understand that there will always be consequences for their actions!”** You respond, your voice no longer impassive. The burn of your determination is echoed by Chara’s.

**“Heh, well I think I can manage that, it seems that we are _of the same mind_.” ** Your eyes glitter as Chara forces you forward, turning to Asriel.

“It’s too late for that, I no longer need you.”  Asriel winces and curls in on themselves in response to their harsh words, rolling off your tongue, it felt comfortable, natural.

**“After all I have you now.”** You are the only one privy to the secondary meaning of their words to Asriel.  You felt somewhat smug, everyone around you was oblivious to your presence, they had no idea what was coming to them.

Now directly in front of the containers Chara raises your arm, the hand grasping the half-blade of the sheer moves steadily with no hesitation.

You feel Chara’s grip on your body slacken slightly, the previous detachment you felt was eased slightly, it became simpler to feel your body move, Chara was inviting you to regain control.

**“Together?”** You ask.

**“Together!”** They confirm.

In tandem you and Chara put all of your strength into shattering the glass containers, your arm swiftly cuts through the air, colliding with them. You barely register the pieces of glass pierce your skin in places.

The souls pulse softly, free from their containment after so many years of solitude. An array of colours swirl softly as they meld together before you. Dazzling white light engulfs you, the intense feeling surges through your veins.

Laughter rings out, filled with insanity. You weren’t sure who was laughing, you were so in tune with Chara your actions became indistinguishable from one another. As one you resolved to see the entire universe fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't they make such an adorable team? 
> 
> I'm not sure how to portray Gaster's and Chara's personalities, I'm just gonna improvise.


	26. Partners In Crime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ranting and stuff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I stared at the screen for nearly half an hour, It's difficult writing dialogue between so many characters at one time.  
> I was like 'how do I fanfic again?'

The feeling was indescribable; the best that you could compare it to was adrenaline induced euphoria. Energy surged through your veins, warming them and leaving a pleasant tingling. Your head felt vaguely crowded, indistinct mumbling of many different voices whispered at the edge of your mind. The light that had entered you exploded out into a supernova, the walls of the castle were ripped away, utterly obliterated.

All that was left were a group of bewildered monsters left in the debris; the dazzling white gave way to the most vibrant hue of red ever witnessed, the light pulsed and throbbed as it was cast out all around a central figure.

Your eyes flew open, you could see more than you ever could before, everything was more detailed than you could imagine, you felt as if you had spent your entire life half-blind in comparison to now with how vivid everything was. Each individual fleck of dust, spiralling through the air could be differentiated from the next.

You hadn’t realised that you had ascended into the air until now; the crimson light radiating from you formed wings, variegated shades of red in the shape of feathers. The light dimmed slightly to reveal an aura of a cascading rainbow encircling your very being. Long black robes draped down your form, even though you weren’t in combat your soul stood proudly in front of your chest, it was clearer and fuller of life than it had ever been in your entire life.

As the walls and ceiling had been dragged down in the explosion you hadn’t noticed that it had begun raining. Before you had never appreciated how dazzling they looked as the light shone through them, you almost perceived them falling slower than they actually were, as they touched your face you saw slight flashes of images, as if you were witnessing the journey they had taken.

Your wings fluttered gently to keep you suspended in the air, barely shifting as if they were in fact unnecessary, you were filled with the knowledge that you didn’t actually need them to fly. In fact it seemed that you could obtain any knowledge you’d ever desired.

**“Chara?”** You thought, casting their name into the infinite space in your head. The chattering in your head subsided slightly.

**“Right here partner. It’s time that we show them who is truly in control of this universe.”**

You cast your eyes down to Asriel who appeared to be coughing from the small particulates released by the explosion. Their gaze falls on you, eyes stretched wide in a combination of recognition and fear.

“C-Chara…what have you done..?” They stutter out.

You relax slightly, it felt so easy allowing them to take over control, it was reminiscent of the sensation you feel when you try to unfocus your eyes, simply relaxing your muscles and allowing their presence to overwhelm you.

You feel your lips curl as Chara speaks, “So funny that you of all people should ask brother, we were only following your example.”

Their initial shame that washes over their face fades as they realise something, “We?”

Your smile grows wider, “Yes, we.” You confirm, your voice slightly deeper than their high and mocking cheerful tone.

You hear a gasp from the right, Toriel was staring up at you in horror, “Frisk? Is that you?”

“I am so much more than just Frisk, I am Chara, I am every child that your kind has murdered, I am the will that guides the universe, I am everything. Frisk is a microcosm for what I am and I can be anything that I desire.” Your voice sounds slightly distorted as you speak in tandem with Chara, giving an eerie effect to your voice.

“WHAT the FUCK did you do to my BESTIE you little twerp!” Undyne rages while holding onto Alphys’ feeble form  caked in dirt.

“This is who I always was, the parts of me that I never showed out of fear of the repercussions, because I desired acceptance, now I see it was foolish to try, I can finally see you all for who you are.” Only your voice comes out this time.

Undyne shakes her head stubbornly, “No I refuse to believe that, they did something to you, the Frisk i know would never act this way.”

A giggle erupts from Chara, “What makes you think that you ever knew the true Frisk to begin with?”

“What is it that you both want? You have taken everything from us, our very hope to escape the Underground has fallen to you both.” Asgore asks in a resigned voice.

“I want to destroy everything once and for all!” Chara smirks, “At first I was amused by this world, ‘Kill or Be Killed’ now I see it is as futile as the others, as long as there is life, as long as there is any form of creation the same mistakes will always be repeated. Trust me the number of timelines I’ve seen, I of all people should know that there is no happy ending, there will never be peace.”

Asriel struggles forward out of the rubble, wincing as he snags his leaves on a jagged slab of concrete, the ground slick from the rain. “That’s insane! Not even I wanted that, I wanted to reset because I feared the future, of being alone, you just want to murder everyone and leave it like that?”

“Precisely. The only true peace that can be obtained is through oblivion, the solitude of the void encompassing this reality. Now we have the power to do this, you only had the six souls and the souls of monsters, we don’t require them, we have the power of eight human souls, much greater than that of six and the strength of a seventh cobbled together from the monsters.”

“WHAT IS THE POINT OF THAT? IF YOU KILL EVERYONE THEN YOU WILL NEVER HAVE ANYONE TO PLAY WITH, YOU’LL MISS YOUR FRIENDS. WOULDN’T YOU BE BORED IF THERE WAS NOTHING LEFT?” Papyrus asks in total befuddlement, his innocent phrasing would have warmed your soul, had it still been your own solely, _(or soul-ly XD) ._

You look down into a puddle formed by the softly falling rain increasing  slowly, you feel a flash of surprise when you take in the colour of your eyes, they never remained one specific colour, gradually shifting colour like a rainbow LED, smaller spots of colour speckled them similar to a kaleidoscope.

This time you address them, “What friends?”

**“Nice one!”** Chara internally snickers.

“Y-YOU SAID THAT YOU WOULD BE MY FRIEND, A-AFTER WE FOUGHT!” He stutters, uncharacteristically nervously.

“I’m supposed to be YOUR bestie NERD!” Undyne adds.

“After attempting to and killing me how many times?” You counter. “Monsters are supposed to be made up of love and compassion, hopes and dreams, you’ve rarely shown this to me. You blamed me for the actions of the entire human race, how were you any better than them. The plaques said that a single human soul was never taken yet there is evidence on the walls for monster-human fusion.”

Asgore shifts uncomfortably, “There was a war, we all do things we aren’t proud of to survive.”

Chara twists your face, “This is me surviving all the bullshit I went through to help you ingrates.” Their voice hissed out menacingly from your vocal chords.

“You would resent humanity for sealing you away too, would you not want to bring hope back to the rest of your people by giving them a goal to aspire to? We can’t remain here forever.”

You laugh cynically, “You have no idea just how lucky you are down here, the surface is a horrific place, wars wage there every day, sexism, racism, murder and rape frequently occur. Not to mention the state that the planet is in, rendered almost uninhabitable in some places due to pollution. Corrupt government and policies, down here you have food and comfort, completely secluded from that and you can govern yourselves, you take it all for granted.”

Toriel hesitantly walks towards you, she keeps her arms spread out in a sign of peace to appear unthreatening, “My children, I understand that your lives have been hard but deciding to take it out on every single person is hypocrisy.”

The ever changing swirl of colours in your iris pause and glow scarlet, “Do not talk to me of hypocrisy! You couldn’t care less whether I died or not, even though you call yourself my mother!” You snap.

A look of hurt spreads across their face, “I tried my best to care for you Frisk, I offered my home to you, just like I did Chara. I tended your wounds and accompanied you to the castle.”

“Do you think that makes up for what you did? You couldn’t even answer your phone whenever I called, when I felt alone and scared you ignored me. You told me not to return to the Ruins, if I was critically injured in Snowdin I couldn’t have gone to you for assistance, I had to wait to die and let the world **RELOAD**. When I tried returning to the Ruins they were always locked! What kind of mother do you call yourself?!”

Chara decides to add to your accusation, “At least Dad knows he’s a fucked up child killer and accepts it, you act so high and mighty as if you’re better than him. Just because you don’t actively seek to kill them doesn’t make you a good person, you even threw fire, at a child that you called your own, that is kinda messed up.” They shrug your shoulders, “Well I can’t judge, we’re going to kill you all anyway.”

Alphys finally struggles out of Undyne’s grasp, she nervously adjusts her glasses before trying and failing to make eye contact with you, “Y-You said that you forgave us, t-that you understood, y-you said that w-what we did when we were c-corrupted we weren’t to b-blame for, if you didn’t c-care about us why d-did you help us?”

“You seem misunderstand something, I found your original personalities just as abhorrent as your corrupted ones.”

You focus a sphere of magic into the palm of your hands, you allow it to expand, the outside of it has a gossamer appearance, figures flickered inside of it. The sphere bursts in a rhapsody of colours, washing over everyone in the room. Inside of the bubble memories resided, every memory you possessed of the Underground, of every **LOAD** , memories from before the reset.

“I have given you the past that you lost, but the future is mine!”

You watch everyone curiously, the anger burning in your chest had barely been kept at bay throughout the entire exchange. _And now they will finally understand every wrong they’ve committed, the things they’ve done to me, having to live through all of that and more. I’m so sick of their obliviousness, it was so simple for them to just live and become befriended, they have no idea the trial and error it took to learn how to survive against them._

_As long as this world exists there is a chance that I will have to live through this again, I’m not letting anyone hurt me ever again, if no one exists then I can never be hurt. I don’t need their love and concern, do they even understand the true meaning of it? I‘m so sick of dying, they deserve to know what it feels like._

Your friends begin to shake and moan, as memories fight their way into their minds, viciously invading with no respite.

**“Hey Frisk, I have an idea,”** Chara’s voice is unexpectedly louder now for some reason, **“Your soul has a grasp on time, with the others we can magnify it, we can manipulate matter as well as time, do you want to try something fun?”**

**“I don’t care.”**

Taking this as consent you become aware of the pulsing sensation of magic inside of your body intensifying. A picture of Sans flashes through your shared mind, Chara jolts your arm out in the direction of Papyrus who jumps out of the way. They weren’t gesturing at Papyrus, they were pointing at the dust on the ground. It began to rise up off the ground and swirl like a hurricane, faster and faster, flashes of multi-coloured lightning streak through it. The dust forms something in the centre of the movement and it dissipates.

Sans stands before you.

“what the hell did ya do kiddo?”

**“Wait Chara, we brought back the dead, without resetting? Is that even possible?”**

**“We can do whatever we want, we’re a God now, we aren’t confined by the restrictions of reality.”**

“chara…the souls…how is it possible for you to consume them? humans can’t absorb human souls…”

A Gaster Blaster begins to form beside Sans as azure flickers of light burst to life in his socket, his expression held a familiar strained grin as he watched you apprehensively.

Chara clicks your fingers together, the Gaster Blaster immediately disappears, much to Sans’ horror.

“Shouldn’t you be grateful? I brought you back to life.” Chara taunts.

Papyrus gazes at Sans, hope filling his eyes sockets, “BROTHER YOU’RE ALIVE!”  Their head turns towards you, “I KNEW THAT DEEP DOWN YOU STILL CARED HUMAN!”

Sans’s sockets narrow, as he shifts closer to his brother protectively. The rest of the monsters are stare at Sans in shock, that he was once again standing before them.

“Sans! I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to kill you, I-I’m so terrible, I-” Toriel bursts out desperately. “I should have listened to you, I was just so happy that I had my children back.”

You scowl at her, “Yeah, so happy that you didn’t care if I was alive or dead anymore, I guess I never meant that much to you.”

Sans’ head snaps back to you, “frisk? that’s you…why?”

“Oh I don’t know, maybe they’ve stopped being so blind to your cruelty, you out of everyone treated them the most unfairly, repetitively killing them and berating them for things out of their control.” Chara replies for you.

Sans’ eye sockets become pitch-black,  summoning bones to hurl at you, he shouts, “you always do this chara, twisting their mind to your will. i’ve seen enough timelines by now to identify that you must have had something to do with it.”

Chuckles shake your chest, Chara raises an arm to deflect the bone attacks, a shield is summoned to life, the bones dissolve into nothing as they make contact. “Believe it or not, I had nothing to do with this one, you’re the ones responsible. Heh, they gave up their humanity for you all to **SAVE** you, removing your corruption, they let you kill them so many times, and for what?”

“what happened to you frisk?” They whisper.

“You happened! I am perfectly fine, I spent so much time regretting everything that I did wrong, sacrificing so much for everyone, and were any of you grateful? I died so many fucking times for you all.” You take a deep breath,

“Do you want to know something funny? After befriending you all the first time around  most of you merely stated that for a human I wasn’t so bad, how many of you actually apologised for trying to hurt and kill me? Papyrus griped about how he was never getting into the Royal Guard and how lonely he was, Undyne said ‘I was alright’ and she didn’t want to kill me anymore, do you think that excuses trying to murder me? Toriel, did you apologise for hurling fire at me, for singeing me and scaring me, Asgore probably still wants my soul and was holding off out of fear of his own life, I think Alphys was the only one who apologised for sending an insane robot after me.”

Asriel edges closer to Sans, despite looking reluctant he offers a vine to Sans who sighs and allows Asriel to attach himself, winding around his humerus. “Frisk, you need to be **SAVED** , just like us.” Asriel retorts.

“How can I need **SAVING** , when there is nothing wrong with me?!” A flame is summoned around you, it engulfs the surrounding area, smaller tendrils of flame extend and lick at your former friends.

“Can’t you see that this isn’t normal? You care about us, you gave up so much for us because you valued our happiness over your own. You barely react to our pain, your positive emotions have gone. I promised to look after you Frisk, I never pretended to be perfect, I’ve hurt you just like everyone else. I don’t claim to deserve forgiveness.”

Chara barks out laughter loudly, “Because you’re so great at keeping your promises to your ‘siblings’ Asriel, you shouldn’t trust him Frisk, he will just let you down.”

Asriel’s eyes become bright with unshed tears, “I’m sorry Chara, I couldn’t bring myself to kill them, even if you thought that they deserved it. I wasn’t strong enough and for so long I regretted not going through with the plan, now I see it was the right decision, I couldn’t have lived with myself if I killed them.”

“You couldn’t live either way, you died you idiot!” Chara growled.

Chara gestures at Sans who crumbles into dust as they twist your wrist, just by applying their will to the existence of the world around, it made them all malleable. Shocked gasps ring out around you, Asriel is left curled up in a pile of dust. With another twist they reformed again, their dust knitting their bones back together.

“I can do whatever I want to you, I can kill you on a whim. You exist for my enjoyment, that is why I brought you back. I can do this again and again and AGAIN!” Chara twists your mouth into a feral grin.

Sans chokes loudly, his sockets stare forwards blankly, disorientated from frequently dying, desperately attempting to regain a sense of reality in hope of fending off attacks that he couldn’t dodge.

“SANS, NO! LEAVE MY BROTHER ALONE!” Papyrus demands protectively stepping in front of them as if to shield them from your joint power.

Asriel looks up from his place on the ground. “Now all I can hope is that I can **SAVE** both you and Frisk, Chara. It’s the least I can do to repent.”

_Do I really hate Asriel? The reason that I gave my body up to Chara was to make sure he never reverted back to Flowey, he did hurt me as Flowey but in this timeline he did everything he could to protect me. He apologised for hurting me…_ A strange stab of warmth invades your chest, different to the pulsating hatred, it was almost unfamiliar amongst the numb feeling in your head. _That doesn’t excuse what everyone else did._

The background chattering that you had ignored sounded more distinct now, instead of tuning it out you listen:

**“Have the bravery to face your own demons, and move on past this hatred.”**

**“This isn’t justice, punishing the world for how you’re feeling, you may have been wronged but this isn’t the way.”**

**“Your kindness and the care of your friends can help you through this.”**

**“Time will heal these wounds, you just have to be patient.”**

**“Harming your loved ones goes against your own personal integrity, you must stand by your morals to the end.”**

**“Don’t give up, you can do it. As long as you persevere you can reclaim your love, you can do anything.”**

_What the hell?_ _Is this anxiety? Why would I feel nervous about a bunch of souls used as an energy supply, they can’t hurt me. Yet why do their words hurt? What’s wrong with me?_

A voice that you were more acquainted with joins the unfamiliar ones, **“What do you think you’re doing partner?”**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sans is just getting victimized now, welp


	27. Soul-ution To Your Sorrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's go dunking!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is probably going to be the last. Thank you for all of your support, XD

**“Chara, I’m not so sure about this.”**

You hear a bitter snort ring inside your head, **“Cold feet already, we’ve only just begun. We can finally get revenge for the way we’ve been mistreated and cast aside. They don’t deserve mercy.”**

**“Even still, I don’t want Asriel to die; throughout this entire timeline he’s protected me. I’ve no reason to hate him.”**

**“That’s preposterous, I’m allowing you to get revenge against them all yet the one person I despise the most you would deprive me of the chance to kill them. Don’t be so selfish. Stop caring about them; they all gave up on you long ago!”**

_Maybe they’re right, but would it be worth sacrificing the one person I gave everything up for? Chara has given me what no one ever could, ultimate power, the chance to prevent harm ever happening to me again. All they’re asking for is vengeance against their former family._ You pause for a second, _when did I start caring about the wellbeing of them all, love is weakness, if I show them mercy they will just tear me apart again._

 **“Chara, how about we let them feel every ounce of agony they have given to us?”** You offer to appease them.

You can fell their answering smile, **“That’s more like it!”**

“kid, please listen. you have to stop this, this isn’t you. we’re your friends, we love you.”  Sans pleads after finding out that any attack he attempted would be returned by tenfold.

You give him a serene smile, “Oh I’m sure you really care about me, after all you promised Toriel that you would look out for me. How many times did I die Sans?! How many times did you just watch as I was murdered? No wonder you never make promises since you’re so shit at keeping them, you threatened me, saying I would be **‘dead where I stand.’** And at that point I’d never done anything wrong, in this timeline you persecuted me for things I’ve never done, so fuck it I might as well do those things and be worthy of your hatred!”

Sans shakes his head angrily, “what kind of convoluted logic is that? i was wrong frisk and i’m sorry for putting you through that but your acting just as irrational as i was. i feared the possibility of you resetting and murdering us and you fear that we’ll all turn on you again but i promise we won’t”

You feel your body begin to shake, his words carving into you deeply, Chara remains silent in your head, allowing you to act as you saw fit. “SHUT THE FUCK UP SANS!” You suddenly yell after a moment of silence startling him. “Do you have any idea what you did to me, after relentlessly murdering me when I begged you for mercy; I flinched at the very sight of you. I had a bloody panic attack when we walked back through the Judgement hall, do you have any idea how messed up that was for me. Oh and what was the most you could do in response?” You pause, giving him a chance to reply, when he doesn’t answer your face twists, “You avoided any possible eye contact, feeling so sorry for yourself, when YOU were the one who terrified the shit out of me!”

Toriel looks up at Sans, her face accusatory, Sans looks down in shame.

 **“Looks like you rest your case, such a little coward.”** Chara internally adds.

“I asked you to protect them Sans, is what they say true?” Toriel asks harshly to which he winces.

“i always watched them.” They reply flatly in a brusque voice.

This time Chara responds, “That’s all you’ve ever been good at Sans, watching. I’ve been in the alternate timelines and fought with you, even when the world is on the edge of oblivion you do not act until the end. I honestly don’t understand, waiting until everyone else is dead is pointless, you have nothing else to live for, there is nothing left to protect, you’re a lazy fool.”

Their head snaps upwards, “well not all of have the luxury of manipulating time as we please, i didn’t know if i would have a future, if it was worth living when in the end it would all be snatched away. i am now the same sans that existed in those timelines, i have their memories. it’s hard to care when there is nothing left to care about.”

“How would you like to feel an existence’s worth of pain?” You ask, “Karmic retribution, what a joke, this is KARMA!”

A surge of white light pulses out of you, your wings spread outwards, extended to their fullest. In your mind you focus on all of the worst pain you had ever endured by their hands:

 **“Attack or run away! What are you proving this way? Fight me or leave! Stop it. Stop looking at me that way.”** You envision the smouldering flames, as they seared your skin. A shriek is heard across the room as Toriel is set on fire.

Your mind then focuses on Papyrus, **“I PITY YOU... LONELY HUMAN...WORRY NOT!!! YOU SHALL BE LONELY NO LONGER! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL BE YOUR... ...NO... NO, THIS IS ALL WRONG! I CAN'T BE YOUR FRIEND! URGH... WHO CARES! GIVE UP!!”** A swarm of bones envelops Papyrus, constantly bashing into him, mimicking the patterns he himself used against you.

 **You know what would be more valuable to everyone? IF YOU WERE DEAD!!! That's right, human! Your continued existence is a crime! Mercy! Ha! I still can't believe YOU want to spare ME!”** Every hurtful word they had ever uttered against you, swarmed inside your head, you felt Chara tentatively observing from the edge of your mind. Undyne growls as a hundred spears slam into her; you use your magic to maintain the states of their bodies, preventing their health from dipping below **1 HP**.

 **“ALPHYS HAS BEEN PLAYING YOU FOR A FOOL THE WHOLE TIME. AS SHE WATCHED YOU ON THE SCREEN, SHE GREW ATTACHED TO YOUR ADVENTURE. SHE DESPERATELY WANTED TO BE A PART OF IT. SO SHE DECIDED TO INSERT HERSELF INTO YOUR STORY. SHE REACTIVATED PUZZLES. SHE DISABLED ELEVATORS. SHE ENLISTED ME TO TORMENT YOU!”** You can hear Mettaton’s words in your head. Even though Alphys had never directly attacked you, you allocated this pacifism to cowardice, the fact they could never even face you themself, they sent one of their creations after you for the petty thrill of adventure to feel better about themself, you allow the bombs they designed for Mettaton to use against you explode around them.

 **“Human, it was nice to meet you goodbye.”** Despite how friendly they seemed, how they never raised their voice or insulted you those words filled you with hatred. _What right did he have to be kind to me as my intended murderer;_ _did he just want to feel better about himself? Why should he feel sad, I’m the one who has been maimed and killed for so long, I wish he would stop._ At a swish of your hand, your robes fluttering in the wind, his trident rises up to strike him, fire surges around.

You had only just noticed the fact that the even though it was raining here not a single drop touched you, each one deflected by a field of magic you had subconsciously projected.

You smirk at Sans, his shoulders hunched slightly in preparation, you allow your mind to fill you with the images of every stab and blow he inflicted, the betrayal when he _hugged you to death,_

 **“y o u ‘ d  b e  d e a d  w h e r e  y o u  s t a n d, get dunked on!** **i’m nothing to you and you are certainly nothing to me.  i ‘ m  g o i n g  t o  h a v e  a  g r e a t  t i m e !** **i knew you were both  f u c k i n g  m u r d e r e r s.”** You summon a dozen Gaster Blasters to obliterate him, at the same time you cast an aura of red around him, determination to prevent the damage from killing him. _He doesn’t deserve to get off that easily._

You watch as everyone writhes in pain, subjected to every blow you had received from them, as you turn to Asriel you notice the reluctant acceptance on his face.

“Go ahead.” He whispers.

You freeze; your very insides feel like they are liquefying. **“Go ahead.”** _The very two words I said that started this mess, the ones that marked my failure as I gave in to Asriel allowing this world to plunge into darkness._

Your sadness and blooming remorse is quickly quelled, you can feel Chara’s presence wash over you, soothing and numbing. **“Stop blaming yourself, he was the one to end the world you knew, he started this chain reaction, it’s because of him that your friends tried to kill you this timeline, it’s because if him that we failed, that I died again and Asgore declared war against humanity. Asriel is the one at fault; make him suffer like the others.”**

Confusion buzzes in your mind _, killer, torturer, sadist, murderer, friend, brother, alley, family…what is he? I can’t remember, why does it hurt to think about, I don’t need to love anyone, they’ll take advantage of me and kill me when I’m weak. Not even the woman who gave birth to me found it in them to love me, how could I expect anyone else to?_

 **“Stop being such a coward!”** A voice snaps, one of the ones you had heard before briefly. You internally scowl and attempt to ignore it.

 **“This is utterly horrific, just because they judged you; you would do the same to them, that makes you no better.”**  Another voice adds.

Then you can hear Chara, their voice much stronger, cutting through the incessant chattering rising inside of you, **“Come on Frisk, if you won’t punish them then let me.”**

You allow Chara’s strength to flood through you, they jerk your arms up and begin to bind Asriel with vines similar to his own, circles of white pellets dart down to strike him. You hear him whimper in pain, this makes your heart squeeze tightly in your chest.

Their pained moans join the others, all wrestling with the torture you had conjured.

“Stop it!” You hiss, “Stop trying to make us pity you, this is what you deserve. I had to go through all of this so you can’t complain.”

 **“How could you do this to your brother? Don’t you love them?”** Another voice asks, you try to desperately quash the unease rising in you.

 **“Isn’t this wonderful, they’re finally getting what they deserve. No longer will we have to put up with the injustice of their actions, their brutal murder and hypocrisy. This is what we’ve wanted all along.”** Chara uses your voice to sadistically laugh at their misfortune, cries resounding into what had now turned into night.

A multitude of flashing lights and flames invade the ruined remains of the castle, over run with devastation. Wails of pain reach higher and higher in pitch, dust spills from their bodies before reforming once more.

Toriel raises her charred head to look at you both, “I love you my children, no matter what.”

“No you don’t!” Chara roars, “Why did you forget me and replace me? I gave up my life for you all and you couldn’t even honour my death, instead you ran away from Dad when he declared war on humanity, I didn’t care if you took the lives of a few humans but my life was rendered worthless and all humans equally despised. Did you even try other methods of breaking the barrier?”

“Of course we did, and we never forgot you Chara. I was wrong to hate all of humanity for Asriel’s death, I never hated you, we were a family and we loved you, we still do!” Asgore gasps out.

You feel uncertain about whether you should defend Chara or allow them the chance to continue speaking.

 **“Just wait…soon you’ll see.”** A softer voice whispers.

The flames they were inflicted with slowly began to subside as Chara lost the will to keep burning them.

“If we didn’t care about the deaths of you both why do you think we desired revenge, both for Asriel’s and your second death, but also for what your human family put you through,” Asgore continues.

“I TOLD YOU NOT TO MENTION THEM!” Chara screams at them, magic constantly replenishing your body, it seemed to be impossible to get a hoarse throat.

“I visited your grave everyday Chara, how can you claim that I forgot you?” Toriel murmurs sadly, clothes were charred beyond recognition yet your magic kept their body intact, completely functioning now that the torture was no more.

Furiously trying to find another person to direct their anger at, they turn to Asriel, “Are you going to give me more lovey-dovey words of how you care about me?” They sneer.

Without a word Asriel decides to do something unexpected, they flex one of their leaves that had been furled, you tense in preparation of an attack. It never came.

A golden heart shaped locket rests in the centre of the leaf, the chain seemed to have been discarded. Silence fills the room as he gently opens the locket.

A soft melody rings out, the notes caress the air, so fragile was the tune, too delicate to be among all of the violence. You felt Chara seize up inside of you, the song seemed to affect them too. You hadn’t realised that it had calmed something inside of you, every cry of pain had ceased, every strike upon the monsters had ended as they too lay in the rubble and listened. Your wings felt heavy and tired.

 **“Sometimes the right thing to do isn’t the easiest option you can take.”**  Another voice chimes, yet their tone is more reserved in respect for this one song.

 _Why, why is everyone so effected, it’s just a stupid piece of music. What does it matter?_ You desperately rationalise.

“Best friends forever.” Asriel says quietly.

Tears that are not your own trail down your cheeks, or were they, you could no longer tell.

Your throat begins to close up, Chara’s emotions roll off of you in waves, the intense light around you shifts to a brighter shade of red, less like the deep wine tone.

“A-Azzy, why d-did you l-leave me..?” Chara whimpers.

Asriel begins to crawl towards you both, their vines carefully wind around you, encircling your waist and caressing your wings.

“I was so alone, s-so afraid. It was so cold and e-empty in the void. Don’t make m-me go back. I had to watch reality progress without me, I was determined to not cease to exist. I-If I give up now I-I’ll go back.” They cry.

 _What do I do? Is this truly what I want_. _To destroy the world that we know out of out of our fear of death; just to create a new one of our own liking. Why should their empty words make me feel, won’t they all just betray me again? I can’t do this-_ ”

“Shhh Chara, it’s okay. I’m here now. I’m so sorry.” Asriel begins to sob into your robes as Chara raises a hand to stroke him.

“Frisk, I swore to protect you, even if I give up my love for you. I am your older brother, this is the price I must pay for my short sighted dreams, my premature death and loss of a soul.”

Your head snaps side to side of its own accord, “No Asriel! Stop, it was my fault, you died because of me, it was my plan. I can’t expect you to murder someone, you’re a better person than I ever was.” Remorse lay thick on your tongue from each of Chara’s words.

Your eyes flicker across the room, Asgore and Toriel are clutching on to each other’s hands tightly, faces full of hope beginning to dawn. Papyrus had scrambled to Sans’ fallen and exhausted form to cradle his head, both watched solemnly, Undyne was holding Alphys close to her, brushing a hand across the back of their head comfortingly.

“Stop being so nice to us, you hate us. We’ve just killed you, again and again. Stop smiling at me!” You shout in anguish.

 _They must be trying to mess with us, everyone has a secret agenda, how can someone possibly smile at me after all I’ve done?_ A tear of your own trickles languidly down your cheek, _what have I done…to them all…weren’t they my friends?_

 **“** **You can do this Frisk! I believe in you!”** Perseverance urges.

They don’t react to your outburst in the way you expected, their faces become filled with pity and understanding.

“You don’t know what it’s like to have a whole world against you! The fear of dying becoming the fear of living, I no longer even have the peace of death. What am i supposed to do?!”

Chara’s soft voice comes from your mouth, seconds after your yelling, so sweet in comparison.

“Maybe it’s okay to give up, to let go. We’ve all done things we regret, we all have our own sins. No one is perfect and no one ever will be. But what we’ve done is more than enough. For the first time in so long I can feel. I can remember the feel of sunlight, the taste of cinnamon butterscotch pie, the warmth of a smile. Sometimes you don’t have to be determined to fight back.”

“My child, Chara…are you?” Toriel asks in a hushed voice.

“I’m so sorry Mom…all of you…my humanity was being stripped away by the void, all that remained was this fear and resentment,” They smile at Asriel, “I remember now, the meaning of love is much more poignant than **LOVE**.”

You can feel the numbing tendrils of darkness uncoil from your chest, a gasp of horror rings out at the sight, the Sorrow that had been attached to you since you fell from the void was burning up, the radiant light around it, the souls pulsing inside you, whose words you had tried to ignore in vain were fighting against it. The manifestation of your negativity was peeling away, _what had Gaster said about them?_. **‘** **As for those shadows, they are known as Sorrows, inter-dimensional leeches preying on the memories of the grieving’**

_Had they been attached to me all this time, ever since I returned to this corrupted timeline?_

As it peeled away you felt hope blossom inside of you, love for your friends that had been smothered and muted blazed brighter than ever, stoking the fire of your determination. Through your magic you could sense the worry  that your friends felt, something you hadn’t been in tune with, that you had ignored. The pure love radiating from them was undeniable.

_How can I have done this too them, so many times. Always doubting and fearing their intentions. It’s true that they from a logical perspective they are not the best of people. They were shaped by the world around them, their mistreatment by others, their hope for a future, willing to sacrifice the good of their own souls for the rest of their kind. Even still, despite that they love me. They deserve a happy ending after all this torment that they had to endure, just as much as I, their own demons of their past, I will make this right._

**“Are you up for a new game partner?”** You ask Chara, feeling the love radiating from your entire being, their answering smile is just as beatific.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What is this? Happiness? There must be something wrong with me. XD
> 
>  
> 
> ThatWeirdOtakuChick became the soul of perseverence, you gave me your soul, I'll use it however I want.


	28. SAVE The Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is it, the longest chapter and the end of the story.

You smile at all of your friends; faint tears glisten in your eyes. Everyone’s attention is focused on you and Chara with your arms wrapped around an exhausted Asriel.

You take a deep breathe to settle yourself, your heart thumped against your chest, racing at an impossible rate. _What if they don’t forgive me?_

**“You have the courage to fix your mistakes.”**

**“You need to set everything right.”**

**“Your friends will forgive you; they can see the kindness and love in your soul.”**

**“You waited so long to SAVE them, now it’s their turn to SAVE you.”**

**“Do what your heart tells you to do.”**

**“You must strive forward, you can’t give up now, we can give them a happy ending.”**

The comforting words of the human souls swirling inside you filled you with determination!

“Everyone…I-I don’t know how I can possibly convey how sorry I am for all I put you through. Not only was I responsible for the corruption of this timeline but I allowed myself to succumb to the darkness. I was even warned about the shadows, the Sorrows. All this time I never noticed how much everything I went through bothered me to the point where I not only hated myself but resented you. Instead of talking about my feelings I bottled them up inside and allowed the Sorrows to feed off of it.”

They all watch you attentively; their expressions seemed pensive but not angered, remaining silent to allow you to continue.

“Even still…that doesn’t justify the things I did, no matter what you did to me, you didn’t deserve that to happen to you…I will understand if you can’t forgive me…I jus-”

“HUMAN! YOU WILL ALWAYS HAVE THE LOVE OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS; WE ARE JUST AS GUILTY AS YOU FOR OUR MISTREATMENT. THERE IS NO POINT DWELLING ON THE MISTAKES OF THE PAST, AFTER EVERYTHING WE’VE SEEN OUR CORRUPTION STEMMED FROM US DESIRING WHAT WE HAD LOST. THE ONLY THING WE CAN HOPE FOR IS THE FUTURE.” His earnest expression was so completely genuine that it was impossible to doubt the heartfelt sentiment of his words. Torn and tattered from the horrors of this timeline Papyrus had emerged smiling as radiantly as ever.

Sans raises his head from his brother’s lap where he had been residing after sustaining repetitive injuries. The lights in his eyes were bright and clear, he scrutinized your expression for a moment.

“it isn’t you who just needs to apologise kid, we’ve all done stuff we’re not proud of. even before the corruption you were treated unfairly. you had a right to be angry at us. besides this is my fault not yours…” Sans sighs deeply, his sockets locked firmly on you, shadows tinted the bone beneath his sockets in imitation of bags. “i blamed you for so many things out of your control and persecuted you; i deserved your vengenc-”

Toriel watches you all with such sorrow, “If I had been a better mother this wouldn’t have happened. I gave up on you out of cowardice, fear that you wouldn’t return, if I became too attached to you I thought it would hurt too much if you were killed. I pushed you aside… and Chara I could have been a better mother to you too, if I had paid more attention then I could have stopped you from taking your own life, the future of Monsterkind wasn’t your burden to bare.”

You feel Chara struggling inside of you, your mouth opens and closes a few times uncertainly before their words are released, “This was my own fault mother, I made the decision and claim responsibility. I just hated humanity; you loved me so much and deserved to be free. I just wanted to repay what you had done for me. After being trapped in the dark for so long I grew jealous that you continued on with your lives, I was desperate to exist no matter what.”

Asgore shifted forward, his arm had remained wrapped around Toriel after the attacks had ceased, a slight smile traced its way across your face, _maybe there is hope for them after all._

“My children…we are all at fault, I can hardly blame you for this when there is so much that I myself regret; claiming the lives of innocent children who just desired to return home, there is nothing I can do to make up for my crimes. Despite that I am glad I had a chance to see you again, Chara…and Asriel, I never thought I would see the day that I could look upon your faces in this earthly realm.” Asgore speaks solemnly, the sympathy in his eyes connected with both you and Chara deep inside.

You could feel the restless movement of the souls surging inside of you at Asgore’s professed guilt and remorse.

Undyne looks up at you, the steady gaze of her tawny eye bore into you, “Frisk, I treated you awfully, we all did. I didn’t even listen to the pleas of mercy coming from a child. I was so obsessed with revenge for the deaths of my parents by the hands of humanity and trying to keep everyone’s hopes alive, I didn’t consider you…I was so cruel….” They trail off, their eye shut before snapping back open, “Having said that I am just as willing to forgive you, so long as you never harm MY Girlfriend again.”

You shiver slightly at their tone of voice, nodding. Your eyes flick to Alphys, no longer huddled up to Undyne, her gaze strong and determined like your own. “F-Frisk…we all do bad things, I-I’ve made so many mistakes, the a-amalgamates…my selfish desire to be a h-hero and the cost of y-your own happiness. It will take a while to f-forgive myself for these things b-but I will always be there for you.” their sorrow melts away into the hint of a smile, “B-By the way I just really wanted to say that you look awesome like this one character in an anime I watched, they had to choose whether they wanted to...well I nearly spoilt that but…then this giant robot comes and he…oh well, we could um watch it t-together at some point…”

A warmth continually grows inside of you, _this is the true meaning of love, the care and devotion of friendship, the desire to protect your loved ones, that’s what matters in this world._

Asriel nuzzles his head against your glowing chest, vines still wrapped tightly around you as if they had the intention of never releasing you. “I told you that I would give up my compassion for you Frisk, if restoring everything to how it once was is the price that must be paid then that is my responsibility, not yours. I destroyed the previous world, had I made you understand that I was okay with paying that price you may not have resorted to refusing to be **SAVED** so adamantly.”

Fear streaks through you, Chara has a similar reaction, “We only just got you back Asriel. We can’t let you go.” Your voices respond in tandem, a gentle harmony in comparison to the gruesome echo it once produced.

 **“We have the power of a God, what use is that if we can’t use it how we desire?”** You ask Chara.

 **“Then, let us change the world.”** Their voice hid the implications of such a choice, yet you understood the risks.

Allowing energy to burst from your body,  it flows into Asriel, filling him up with a pure white glow. The colour you achieve when you combine: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.

“It has occurred to me.” You begin, Asriel stiffens in your hold slightly in surprise of the magic arching into him. “I was told a Monster’s soul lacks determination, it is white as if it is void of the traits that make up a human soul, yet they are made of love and hopes and dreams. A spectrum or rainbow is white light, diffracted, split into an array of colours. What does that say for your souls? You do not lack determination, bravery, justice, kindness, patience, integrity and perseverance. In fact you have a surplus of it, they are combined into the white of your souls, you are everything. So to create a monster soul…you must require everything.”

Asriel gasps aloud, his body bathed in light. A feeling of shrinking and growing at the same time, prickling and caressing. The weight inside your arms grows, before you curled up in your arms sits Asriel Dreemurr, a tender smile stretched across their muzzle, thick white fur coating their fully formed limbs, a familiar yellow and green jumper upon their person.

“Frisk…Chara…how is this possible?” Asriel asks in wonder, shifting down from your hold they flex their arms, laughter rings out softly. Their wide eyes gleaming with joy as they run towards their parents who held similarly bewildered and overjoyed expressions.

“Asriel…you’re…” Toriel and Asgore hold him close, cradling him.

 **“We actually did it…I was finally able to repay Asriel for everything I took from him, he can finally be happy…even if I have to disappear.”** Chara whispers in awe.

A strange realisation hits you, _I have the chance to right every wrong…I can **SAVE** everyone, I can make it all better._

You cast your mind into the empty space of oblivion the void, concentrating all of your might, waves of magic roll off of you, calling. You feel a presence respond, yet it is incomplete. The radius of your magic expands, calling out to everywhere, pieces shattered across time and space resonate back. Snapping your eyes open something begins to form, swirling dark mist settles, pieces like shattered obsidian float around and gravitate. One by one they piece together a form.

W.D Gaster has been **SAVED.**

Static rings out, confused and panicked. Completely disorientated by their surrounds they desperately look around for something resembling normality. Dark sockets with a honey hue of gold flicker as they take in your form, recognition crossing their face.

Slowly they raise their hands to sign, [It was enough to regain who you once were Frisk, why would you desire to **SAVE** me?]

“Because you are my friend, and  I owe you just as much of an apology as everyone else, you tried to show me the truth, you protected me in the void and comforted me. No one deserves to die or be forgotten, forgetting the things we hold dear is what caused this mess. I will use every ounce of our strength to **SAVE** everyone.”

Sans and Papyrus’ jaws drop, disbelief and hope in their gaze.

“DAD?”

“dad…”

A serene smile crosses Gaster’s face,  they walk swiftly towards their children. You notice that the other monster’s look at him with some perplexity as if they can’t quite place his face, yet they should know it.

With their arms around their children, buzzing something indistinct under their breath to them they look at peace.

 **“I didn’t even think it was possible to drag someone back from the void.”**  Chara comments.

 **“Does this mean…I could…?”** You begin, you can feel Chara’s curiosity probing you as you trail off.

 _If I am a God then surely nothing is beyond my control, I can fix everything. Could I possibly fix my very first mistake: Can I bring my Dad back?_  The incessant buzzing increases.

**“Frisk, that wasn’t your mistake, your mother was insane. You didn’t kill him, she did. Even if you don’t think she is responsible her instability would still be to blame. You can’t solve everything, besides what if he’s moved on?”**

You tense up, **“You were listening to my thoughts? I give you your privacy. I can do what I want.”**

You focus your determination on the memory of your father, the smile on his face, the scent of his cologne and the songs he sung to you when you were younger. Even though you grappled the physical manifestation of your will across reality you were unable to latch on to anything.

“kid, what’s wrong?” Sans asks hesitantly.

You frown in concentration, each time you tried you came up with nothing. “I can’t **SAVE** him, why won’t it work?”

“ **SAVE** who?”

Chara answers for you as you had opted to refocusing your magic. “Frisk’s father was killed on the surface by their mother, they blame themselves for their death and want to bring them back.”

“For fuck’s sake, work!” You shout angrily, you don’t pay attention to the flinching of your friends around you.

“maybe they don’t need **SAVING** frisk.” Sans says quietly.

“Of course he does, he’s dead. Chara was dead, Asriel and Gaster were dead, why can’t I bring him back?!”

You look over at Gaster, a static sigh is released,[ I wasn’t technically dead, I still existed while simultaneously not existing. I didn’t completely cease to be or ‘move on.’ Chara’s determination not to die wasn’t enough to bring them back, merely hold onto this plane of existence, your father’s soul most likely is at peace.]

You shake your head stubbornly, “No that can’t be true! I have to **SAVE** him, I owe it to him to bring him back, it was my fault!”

Chara hesitates, “Wouldn’t it be crueller to bring him back? If he is at peace then the world will have moved on without him, is it right to take him away from wherever he is?”

_I have to do this, I need to repay my debt. I have to repent, I caused so much pain. There is no way I can give up now, I am determined._

“If I have this power don’t I have a responsibility to use it?” Sans watches you carefully, his malleable brow of bone creases slightly. “If I can’t **SAVE** him, there is so much more I can still do, there is so much pain in the world, genocide and murder, war and racism. I could stop it all, I have the power to do it, no one will have to suffer again.” By this point your voice was almost hysterical.

“That wouldn’t be right my child, you can’t chose to control the future of others, no matter how much you want to.” Toriel states sadly.

“Chara come on, you of all people must know what humanity is like, do you really think that they’ll accept Monsterkind or even us for that matter? Do you really think they can change? You’re all acting like this is a bad thing but I care about you, I’m only trying to protect you!”

A warm pulse inside of you responds as if it were trying to calm you, “And yet I of all people know what happens when you deny the right of a future to others, denying people their free will. These things are within the control of humanity because the choice to do evil is part of free will, if we take it away we are no better than those who enforce their ideals.”

_What am I supposed to do? I just want everyone to be safe, what use is this power, the power of eight souls if I can’t even achieve the things i desire._

“controlling the future is tricky business bucko, appointing one person the right to mess with it aint right, you need to let go.” Sans responds.

“Let go of what? I’m not corrupted, I love you all very much. What’s wrong with trying to protect you all?”

“everything. you need to let the past go to embrace the future, what’s in the past is in the past. if you regret all the things you could have done that were beyond your control you will have no future, you will constantly reset the past to get it right, there will be no future. the future is a risk but what worth does life hold if you can predict everything?”

You begin to cry, tears trickle down your cheeks softly, your wings flutter more rapidly to keep your shaking form suspended in the air. “If I can’t **SAVE** the dead, why can’t I protect the future?” You sob, “I can’t let any of you die again.”

“I AM TOO GREAT TO DIE HUMAN! IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF ALL OF US TO CREATE A FUTURE OF OUR OWN CHOOSING, YOU CAN’T BEAR THE BURDEN ALONE, LET US HELP YOU!”  Papyrus calls out enthusiastically.

“You have already done all you can and more, you have reconciled two families and you will always have us as a family.” Asriel stares up at you earnestly from the side of their parents.

**“It’s okay Frisk, you have all of us. Even if I wish I could change my past I won’t compromise the lives of others, not anymore, we’ve taken too much already. Just release the souls.”**

_I guess that they’re right, just because I have the power to do something it doesn’t me that I should do it._

“Y-You’re right…I won’t deny anyone their future any longer…that is after all what we were fighting for. Even though there is so much hatred in the world, the acts of love we see around us become more worthwhile and significant, a smile holds that much more meaning.”

A collective sigh of relief seems to be released throughout the room, gentle smiles meet you, pride in their gaze.

Gaster begins to sign once again, [You are too young to hold the fate of the world in your hands, instead let us share it together.]

**“I’m sorry for being so stupid Chara, I’m just afraid of losing everything again…”**

The soothing throb of their soul radiates throughout you, **“I understand, no one blames you. Instead there is one last thing we can do.”**

They didn’t need to tell you what it was, you already knew full well. A brilliant multi-coloured light pulsates in your hands, growing larger and larger. A beam of light jets outwards, striking the barrier. It was like glass, fragile cracks began to split across the surface of it, a rainbow aura glowing through it. Forcing more of your determination into it you call upon the human souls.

 **“Frisk, stay determined, we will give everyone the future they deserve.”**  Chara cries out.

**“Yes! Keep going, obliterate it with all your might!”**

**“At long last we can pay back the debt to monsters for being sealed down here.”**

**“Let your love and desire to help your friends become your strength, ignite your determination.”**

**“It will break eventually, don’t stop.”**

**“We will uphold the promise, we will keep them safe.”**

**“It’s nearly broken, don’t give up!”**

With an almighty ringing sound the barrier breaks, a shattering sound pierces the air. The force of the barrier collapsing knocks you back, you fall down into a patch of flowers. The pulsing strength of the souls within you feel weaker yet their presence is still evident.

“You did it…you broke the barrier?” Asgore says in awe.

“Sunlight is in our reach at long last!” Undyne hollers as she hugs Alphys excitedly.

Everyone else stands mesmerised.

Asriel rushes over to you and Chara to pull you up from the ground, exhaustion makes you sluggish yet even now the strength of so many souls are attempting to replenish you already.

“You really did it!” Asriel hugs you tightly.

Chara’s presence flows into you as they hug Asriel back along with you. “We can finally see the stars together Azzy!”

The atmosphere of pure love and joyous rapture buzzed through you just as strongly as any magic you could ever acquire, residual energy lingered from the intense concentration of magic focused at the barrier.

**“Chara…we can’t remain like this, we need to release the souls.”**

**“I know, I’m ready. No matter what happens.”**

You close your eyes, the shifting and swirling of all of the souls inside you respond. You stop trying to hold on to them. A gentle pressing sensation from the inside of your chest signals the beginning. One by one the souls pour out of you. It felt strange to have your head relieved of the constant yet faint chatter. To be honest you missed the feeling of never being alone.

You look up at the souls hovering before you, Chara’s crimson soul along with the others resonated brightly. Then something strange began to happen.

The residual magic in the atmosphere started to gather around them, drawn into each soul as they absorbed it. The pure power of change, not creation nor destruction. A tornado of light illuminated the ruined castle, flickering across the dilapidated walls. Spinning faster and faster it gathered in more and more magic, webs of light from your friends became connected to it as they could only stare in shock.

At long last there seemed to be enough, with all of the extra magic obtained the tornado split apart. Seven glowing figures stand before you.

A boy with frizzy hair tied up with a bandanna waved a gloved hand at you, another child with a cowboy hat dipped low over their face clicked their empty gun at you playfully. A girl wearing an apron with the emblem of a muffin on attempted to balance a frying pan on her head, a small blond girl with a cherry red ribbon in their hair clutched a toy knife, a ballerina with a navy blue tutu and matching slippers did a pirouette cheerfully, another child with thick glasses began to furiously scribble something down in their notebook.

The last figure you see is the most welcoming sight, Chara stands before you, a wide genuine smile stretched across their face, their jumper matching Asriel’s with their green and yellow stripes, a golden heart-shaped locket hung around their neck, no weapon in their hand as they fiddled with it.

“C-Children?” Toriel gasps out.

“Hi Mom!” One calls.

“It’s Miss Toriel!”

“Heya Tori.”

Swarms of children flood around her as she attempts to hug them all, Asgore lingers back uncertainly, guilt reeking out of his expression plaintively.

The child with the notebook turns towards him, “We don’t blame you anymore, you were doing what you felt you had to. We had a long time to think about it, now we’re just happy that it is over, we expected to be put to rest and somehow we have a second shot at life.”

Tears begin to well up in Asgore’s eyes, “I am so sorry children, what I did is unforgivable…I know you have been dead for quite some time…you’re lifespans are shorter than monsters…I’m afraid your families may not be alive any longer…” he inhales deeply, pushing aside his self-loathing, “I-if you would like…I and Toriel would be happy to provide you with a home…along with Asriel, Chara and Frisk.”

“WOWIE! THEY’RE SO MANY NEW HUMANS TO BEFRIEND!”  Striking a heroic pose he begins, “I AM YOUR NEW FRIEND THE GREAT PAPYRUS.”

Chara turns to you, “You know, I was ready to let go but something happened, our souls hadn’t passed on like the others, we were still tied to this plane of existence. The residual magic from our assault on the barrier as well as the magic we took from the rest of the monsters here allowed us to recreate our bodies, the potential for creation in the magic from when we obtained Godhood allowed us to be physically tied to this world.”

Hesitantly you all make your way outside, the feeling of seeing the sun after so long was incredible. The heat bathed your skin, softer than a whisper. The fiery blaze that couldn’t be imitated by the strongest magic, was fixed majestically above you. _All of the dreams i had of the surface couldn’t do justice to the memory of it._

Together you watch the sunrise, full of hope.

Asgore turns to you, “Frisk, I was wondering if you would become our Ambassador, I would understand if you didn’t wish to associate with me again…”

“I would love to…Dad.” You test the word on your tongue thoughtfully, _If Toriel is my new mother then I guess Asgore is my father, after all I seem to have gained a numerous amount of siblings. It’s okay to let go of the past, I won’t forget my human father…or my mother despite her faults, but it will be okay, it is okay to move on and to be happy._

You hear the excited clambering of the other children, gesturing enthusiastically at their surrounds as they ask your friends many questions, holding no hate or resentment in their hearts…so pure.

You shut your eyes briefly to focus on your determination, **HP:20/20**. You try to make a **SAVE** point, **SAVING** is no longer possible. It looks like you’ve **SAVED** everyone who needs **SAVING**.

_This is it now, no more resets, no more regrets. The future that lies ahead is ours. Through the determination of everyone, we have all been **SAVED.**_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all of you, for all of your wonderful support, comments and kudos. I couldn't have written this fic without all of you fueling my determination. It's finally over, I hope you enjoyed it. The end was a bit anime like and cliche but I wanted everyone to have a happy ending. I claim no responsibility for any cavities you may have developped from reading this ending.
> 
> Look! Happiness! I can write things other than murder and betrayal.
> 
> Well now this is over I can study for my GCSEs on an evening, I will probably try writing again during the summer holidays when I have free time. 
> 
> Love you all XD


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